The angel told the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born in the city of David a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Yet, we oftentimes have a problem with joy.  Happiness is what we really desire.  Ever since Thomas Jefferson paraphrased John Locke in the Declaration of Independence that the rights of every person are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” we Americans have made happiness our foremost goal in life.  We want to be happy, and we want to be happy now!

I believe this is why television evangelists who preach health, wealth and happiness are so popular in our culture.  I also believe this is why depression is so prevalent, especially during the holidays.

I once heard someone say that happiness is like a shallow stream of water in the winter and spring.  It rapidly trickles along, singing very loudly as it flows downstream.  However, in the summer, the stream dries up leaving a cracked, parched ground.

Joy, on the other hand, is like a very deep river.  Unlike the loud singing of the stream, because of its depth, joy is quiet, almost motionless as it moves downriver oftentimes unnoticed.  Joy never dries up, even in the driest months of the year.

The gift of joy runs much deeper than the shallow gift of happiness.  Happiness is on the surface.  Joy, however, runs deep.

True Christmas is the gift of joy.  We are not celebrating the shallowness of God who only scratches the surface of humanity.  We do not celebrate God gazing down from some lofty place to only nod or wink in humanity’s direction.  We celebrate the truth that God came down to be with humanity and to be humanity.  We celebrate the deep, inmost humility of God that called God to empty God’s self and to become involved with humanity even to the point of dying for humanity.

Christmas is anything but shallow.  No wonder the angel said Christmas is good news of “great joy” and not “happiness.”