Stern’s Christmas fable takes its main character to an alternate story. The little man on the bridge granted George a wish, which in the end felt more like a curse than a gift. George experienced a reality in which he was never born, a world without him. Sadness and pain were the constant as he wandered through a world never graced by his life. His younger brother had died because George wasn’t there to save him from drowning. His parents would live under the shadow of their child’s death. Mary, George’s wife, would marry another man named Art Jenkins and have children. Art would turn to alcohol becoming a heavy drinker after his brother stole some money and disappeared.
Eventually George reaches a breaking point. This alternate reality only gave way to a desperate man. He runs out of the little town and hurries to the bridge where he had first met the angel-type-being, hoping the little man would still be there. Stern’s fable then tells us,
George was relieved to see the little stranger standing on the bridge. “I’ve had enough,” he gasped. “Get me out of this—you got me into it.” The stranger raised his eyebrows, “I got you into it! I like that! You were granted a wish. You got everything you asked for. You’re the freest man on earth now. You have no ties. You can go anywhere—do anything. What more can you possible want?” “Change me back,” George pleaded. “Change me back—please. Not just for my sake but for the others too. You don’t know what a mess this town is in. You don’t understand. I’ve got to get back. They need me here.” “I understand right enough,” the stranger said slowly. “I just wanted to make sure you did. You had the greatest gift of all conferred upon you—the gift of life, of being a part of this world and taking part in it. Yet you denied that gift.”
When we meet George on the bridge the first time, he is desperate to escape his life. When he returns to that bridge, at the end of the story, he is desperate to regain the life he lost. What changed? In a word, perspective. This was the actual gift the angel had given. The dictionary defines perspective as, “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.” George now saw life through a different filter. The story ends with joy, as George hurried back through the village seeing friends and family along the way. He made sure to kiss his mother, joke with his father, and squeeze his brother’s hand, as if to assure himself that he was still alive. The story ends with joy coming home. George returns to his wife, Mary, and the kids, smothering them with affection, and realizing that what he had experienced wasn’t a dream … it was real, and now this life was real again.
The Advent season is an entire time of the year, traditionally four weeks, that gives again and again the gift of perspective. The groundswell of anticipation felt, building with each passing week, until it gives way to celebration. If hope comes to our address, if faith opens the door, then joy is the emotion that fills the house. Christmas is a celebration of life. The gift of a life that had been prophesied down through the ages and arrived in an unassuming manner. In short, the birth of Jesus makes a new type of joy possible. Let me explain.
In the New Testament the Greek words for ‘joy’ and ‘grace’ are closely related:
χαρά (joy) χάρις (grace)
See the similarities? Now read Luke 2:10-12,
But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
There is an undeniable correlation between joy and Jesus in the above text. In fact, some Bible translators have rendered the “good news of great joy” portion of the text: “I evangelize to you a great joy.” The joy we experience is because of the Savior that was born. Titus 2:11 reads, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people…” God’s grace to mankind is Jesus, mankind’s response is joy. Joy is the natural response to grace because grace is the greatest reason for joy.
Advent allows us to return to that bridge just outside of town. Not in desperation and hopelessness. Rather, Advent affords us the margin and ability to return to a place where we can recapture a sense of anticipation and wonder. It is a season to rediscover the gift given and hopefully regain the meaning of it all. I hope, as we walk through our third week of advent, that this week is one of great joy because of the great grace God has given you.