On a very ordinary night long ago a
young Jewish woman went down into the mysterious depths of motherhood and came
back with a child, a son, the Son of God, she said He was. She
was so convinced of it that she named Him, Jesus, "God saves." His birth was nothing less than an
incarnation. His life would be lived so
as to shake the foundations of the world.
His death offered to the world a new way of being. His resurrection would shatter the stronghold
of death. His stunned, redeemed,
energized, and God-empowered disciples would change the world.
Interestingly enough, history does
not record the date of His birth. All
history tells us is it wasn't until the early-to-mid 4th century that the Western
Christian Church
placed Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted in the Eastern
Church. Also, according to the calendar
the actual day of Jesus birth was probably six years earlier than history
declares. Apparently, in the mind of the
Spirit of God the date isn't as important as is its reality.
The truth is Christmas isn't on the
minds of most serious believers in Christ.
They will have fun with the celebrations and gift exchanges but the true
heart of the season is Advent – the Advent of God into human history. Some will be preoccupied with the secular
invasion of materialism into the storyline but believers know that even though
cultures have hijacked the true meaning of Jesus' birth, they stand clueless
and silly-looking when it comes to the Advent of God into human history.
True believers in Christ start
their new year each year, not on January 1 but on the fourth Sunday before
December 25. The first Sunday in Advent
marks the beginning of the Christian calendar.
Followers of Jesus don't rush into December 25 grabbing for presents
under a tree. Instead, we humble
ourselves and worship our way through the staggering story of God that brings
Him into history and all the way down into the very human story of us. This year the first Sunday of Advent is
November 30.
To know we are embraced by the
self-giving, triune God of the universe, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, shocks
the imagination. Advent and the Christmas event draw us to a Middle East manger
where we stand, maybe kneel, in awe and wonder, stunned that God would dare do
such a thing. The old Gospel song says it well,
That God should love a sinner
such as I,
Should yearn to change my sorrow
into bliss,
Nor rest till He had planned to
bring me nigh,
How wonderful is love like this!
("Such Love," C Bishop,
R Harkness © 1926, 1956, Lillenas Publishing Co.)
How Wonderful is love like
this! That God should love a sinner such
as I. As John Newton wrote, it is Amazing Grace.
Brennan Manning said it this way,
Christmas is the promise that the
God who came in history and comes daily in mystery will one day come in glory.
God is saying in Jesus that in the end everything will be all right. Nothing
can harm you permanently, no suffering is irrevocable, no loss is lasting,
no defeat is more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Jesus did
not deny the reality of suffering, discouragement,
disappointment, frustration, and death; he simply stated that the Kingdom
of God would conquer all of these horrors, that the Father’s love is so prodigal
that no evil could possibly resist it.(-- Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan
Manning)
Dr. Seuss said it this way,
“And the Grinch, with his
Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how
could it be so?
It came without ribbons. It came
without tags.
It came without packages, boxes
or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till
his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of
something he hadn't before.
What if Christmas, he thought,
doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means
a little bit more.”
Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow said it this way,
And
in despair I bowed my head;
"There
is no peace on earth," I said;
"For
hate is strong,
And
mocks the song
Of
peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then
pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God
is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
The
Wrong shall fail,
the
Right prevail,
With
peace on earth, good-will to men!”
("Christmas Bells,"
written on Christmas Day in 1863, after
the death of his son in the Civil War and the death of his wife in a
house fire. It was first published in February 1865)
Frederick Buechner said
it this way,
“It is impossible to
conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not
happened whenever, wherever, however it did … for millions of people who have
lived since, the birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding
life but a new way of living it. It is a truth that, for twenty centuries,
there have been untold numbers of men and women who, in untold numbers of ways,
have been so grasped by the child who was born, so caught up in the message he
taught and the life he lived, that they have found themselves profoundly
changed by their relationship with him.”
Gabriel
said it this way,
“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” … Do
not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son
of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne
of his father David, and he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
(Angel Gabriel, Luke 1:28-33)
(Angel Gabriel, Luke 1:28-33)
Jesus said
it this way,
I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will
go in and out and find pasture. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:9-10)
How wonderful is love like this!
Amazing Grace, how sweet the
sound.
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail.
What if Christmas…doesn't come from
a store? What if Christmas, perhaps,
means a little bit more.”
Christmas is the promise that the
God who came in history and comes daily in mystery will one day come in glory.
God is saying in Jesus that in the end everything will be all right.
"For a child will be born to us, a
son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on
His shoulders;
And His name will be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father,
Prince of Peace" -- Isaiah 9:6
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