Well-springs of joy!
It does sound a bit strange that _a babe on the knee of a virgin_ might
be the well-spring of joy. Ordinarily, it is a well-spring of worry and
tears when a virgin sits with her babe on her knee--worry and tears for
herself and for those who are related to her. But here we behold a
virgin who herself has sung the joyful hymn of praise because she had
been found deserving of such grace.
Well-springs of joy it was to Mary and to the aged Elizabeth from the
very beginning--and now the Christmas Angel announces that it is "for
all the people."
But, someone may say to us: Yes, we know that the _shepherds_ were
happy and that joy reigned in the _inn_, and we also realize that you
speak of Christmas joy, etc., but when you say that this story about
the Child in the Manger is a well-spring of joy--then, really, you go
a little bit too far, and such exaggerations hurt your own cause. It
isn't sensible to make it out quite as strong as that. Behold that
highly praised Child Jesus nailed to the cross as a condemned criminal,
His mother standing at the foot of the cross--and then tell us: Isn't
it true that this Child, like so many, many others, made joy change
into sorrow? Wouldn't any mother's heart break when she had to witness
her son die the death of a condemned criminal? Even though no sin was
found in Him, then you must admit that in this position he was a well
of sorrow and weeping rather than of joy.
We answer: We know very well that His mother and His disciples
mourned and wept--they could not do otherwise in that hour. But the
_well-spring_ of this sorrow and weeping was not in the crucified
Christ. Even in this hour He is the well-spring of joy, for then He
nailed our debt of sin to the cross. Then He redeemed us from the power
of sin and death and the devil. It was for our sake that He allowed
Himself to be nailed fast onto the cross. It was thus magnificently
revealed here that the Child praised while sitting on the virgin's
knee, had proved to be our faithful friend in life and death, when
He became a man. Therefore, He is, also, in this the darkest hour of
His earthly life, a well-spring of joy, and if we are to weep when we
gather about the Christmas Child as the Crucified One in the church of
the Lord--then it shall be out of the joy of our hearts.
The Christmas Child is the only one, born of woman, of whom it can
be said that He has been a well-spring of joy. And that He has been
throughout the life of mankind--from that very moment when in the
Garden of Eden He was spoken of as the conqueror of the serpent. But He
is also the only one who
"makes all earth feel joyful."