Who doesn’t light up at the sparkly-eyed expectation and thrill of children on Christmas Eve?! I remember lying awake all night as a child, the relief of sleep coming only in short and shallow doses before excitement woke me up again. It was the longest night of the year!
For children, Christmas is a time to dream. It's a time to linger over wish lists and make one's greatest desires known, not just to moms and dads, but to the universe. Christmas speaks to them of the possibility of the things they long for but are beyond their grasp, of hopes and dreams coming true, of the impossible becoming possible.
For those of us who still have it in us to dream and hope, Christmas stirs up that old excitement in us as well. It is a time for us to search ourselves and examine our own hearts, and to determine for ourselves what exactly it is that we truly wish for. Mostly, these things can't be wrapped and placed under a tree.
The season of advent that we’ve just experienced is all about expectant waiting and preparation; it is about the anticipation and readying of ourselves to receive the fullness of what Christ has come to bring.
In the pages of the Bible we see this same excitement and anticipation in the characters that show up around the time of Jesus’ birth: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, and Anna, as well as the nation of Israel that has been waiting for centuries. The scriptures that they follow say that those who hope in the Lord will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23), and now, glory to God, his promises have been fulfilled and their hope – and ours – is rewarded: Christ has come!!
This royal Prince makes his first appearance as “the child born in the night among beasts” as Frederick Buechner says, and he has come not so that we can serve him, but that he might serve us.
The season of advent that we’ve just experienced is all about expectant waiting and preparation; it is about the anticipation and readying of ourselves to receive the fullness of what Christ has come to bring.
In the pages of the Bible we see this same excitement and anticipation in the characters that show up around the time of Jesus’ birth: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, and Anna, as well as the nation of Israel that has been waiting for centuries. The scriptures that they follow say that those who hope in the Lord will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23), and now, glory to God, his promises have been fulfilled and their hope – and ours – is rewarded: Christ has come!!
This royal Prince makes his first appearance as “the child born in the night among beasts” as Frederick Buechner says, and he has come not so that we can serve him, but that he might serve us.
What a strange place for one with such grand titles to be born; his mission is stranger yet. So who is this Messiah? Why all the excitement? And how does he serve us?
The prophet Isaiah says he is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
He, himself, says that he is the source of all our needs.
The prophet Isaiah says he is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
He, himself, says that he is the source of all our needs.
He is the “living water” and “bread of life” who alone can give deep, thirst-quenching soul satisfaction (Jn 6:35).
He is the “light of the world” – the one who dispels all our darkness and gives us his life-giving light (Jn 8:12).
He is the “good shepherd” who loves his own so much that he gives up his life for them (Jn 10:11).
He is “the resurrection and the life” who takes away the sting from death and dying and gives life that lasts forever (Jn 11:25).
He declares that he is the “way and the truth and the life” – the only way through which man may enter and live in God’s presence (Jn 14:6).
Just like his birth in an animal shelter, he always does his work in ways that are unexpected, surprising. As Buechner says, “Those who believe in God can never in a way be sure of him again. Once they have seen him in a stable, they can never be sure where he will appear or to what lengths he will go or to what ludicrous depths of self-humiliation he will descend in his wild pursuit of man" (The Hungering Dark).
Jesus has come in “wild pursuit of man.”
“Blessed be his glorious name forever,” sang the psalmist long ago. “May the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!” (Psalm 72:19)
Today we sing: “Fall on your knees, O hear the angels' voices; O night divine, O night when Christ was born…”
The final candle on our advent wreaths are lighted this week, and we join with millions of Jesus’ followers around the world in commemorating the Messiah’s birth, and in worship. Let the celebrations begin!
Suggested readings this week: Micah 5:2-5; Matthew 1:18-25; Titus 3:3-7
He is the “light of the world” – the one who dispels all our darkness and gives us his life-giving light (Jn 8:12).
He is the “good shepherd” who loves his own so much that he gives up his life for them (Jn 10:11).
He is “the resurrection and the life” who takes away the sting from death and dying and gives life that lasts forever (Jn 11:25).
He declares that he is the “way and the truth and the life” – the only way through which man may enter and live in God’s presence (Jn 14:6).
Just like his birth in an animal shelter, he always does his work in ways that are unexpected, surprising. As Buechner says, “Those who believe in God can never in a way be sure of him again. Once they have seen him in a stable, they can never be sure where he will appear or to what lengths he will go or to what ludicrous depths of self-humiliation he will descend in his wild pursuit of man" (The Hungering Dark).
Jesus has come in “wild pursuit of man.”
“Blessed be his glorious name forever,” sang the psalmist long ago. “May the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!” (Psalm 72:19)
Today we sing: “Fall on your knees, O hear the angels' voices; O night divine, O night when Christ was born…”
The final candle on our advent wreaths are lighted this week, and we join with millions of Jesus’ followers around the world in commemorating the Messiah’s birth, and in worship. Let the celebrations begin!
Suggested readings this week: Micah 5:2-5; Matthew 1:18-25; Titus 3:3-7
No comments:
Post a Comment