Jesus prayed, “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” John 17:13
Jesus was praying those words to his Father right before he was betrayed and taken away to be crucified – right before he was going back Home.
Why am I reading about the end of Jesus’ life and not the beginning of it this week before Christmas? Isn’t it more joyful reading about Mary and Joseph’s anticipation, the shepherds and wise men amazement of baby Jesus or the angels singing glory to God? Why ponder about the weight of the world Jesus had on his heart right before he was crucified? I don’t necessarily want to carry the weight of that thought along with the bag on gifts my shoulder this Christmas season. Easter will be here soon enough to focus on that.
But quietly, it’s as if He asked me to think about this…
“Do you think Jesus was saying to his Father something similar to those words when he was about to leave His Father in heaven and enter this messy world with us,
“Father, I am leaving to go now into the world so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”?
He enters this messy world in a messy stable to give us the full measure of joy.
The. Full. Measure. Of. Joy.
He gives us the gift of the full measure of joy now as we anticipate his birth. He gives us the gift of the full measure of joy when we go into the world to be a gift to others. He gives us the gift of the full measure of joy when He’s resurrected and living forever. With us. God with us.