Pondering Christmas

The reason one does not rejoice in the incarnation is for lack of holy meditation upon the subject, its miraculous nature, the promises, the Person, the fruits and this great salvation brought about by His suffering and death. What reason for rejoicing would he who does not attentively reflect upon this have?

- Wilhelmus à Brakel, as quoted by Joel Beeke

Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation

We must both read and meditate upon the nativity.  If the meditation does not reach the heart, we shall sense no sweetness, nor shall we know what solace for humankind lies in this contemplation.  The heart will not laugh nor be merry.  As spray does not touch the deep, so mere meditation will not quiet the heart.  There is such richness and goodness in this nativity that if we should see and deeply understand, we should be dissolved in perpetual joy.

- Martin Luther, as quoted by Nancy Guthrie

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas

These words slay me. They convict me of what I should be should be doing this Advent season. Meditating upon the glory of the incarnation. Pondering these things in my heart, as Mary did. I may celebrate the babe in the manger, but I don't fully consider the impact of his coming.

This doesn't mean I shouldn't watch White Christmas and sappy Hallmark movies. Or shop for Christmas gifts and bake cookies. Or even set out the ceramic Santas my mom painted years ago. I can celebrate Christmas because Christ has set me free. But in the midst of Christmas carols, holiday specials, and halls sufficiently decked there is a miracle to be considered. Every day, Jesus rescues me from my pit of sin. Every single day. And that deserves more than a cursory glance of my Bible, a fleeting thought as I sing along with "O Holy Night", and a quick prayer as I light the Advent candles. I cannot fully meditate upon the nativity, as à Brakel and Luther intended, in one month or even a year.

Persis wrote, "We can meditate on the incarnation and have our minds blown away by the mystery of the hypostatic union in December as well as the rest of the year." Her words remind me that the miracle of Christmas isn't confined to a season. Nor should our celebration of it be. Long after the nativity sets are nestled away for another year, may we, like Ebenezer Scrooge, keep Christmas well.

When God was Silent

 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,  in these last days has spoken to us in His Son”  Hebrews 1:1-2

I love this season as we  think about  the birth of Christ and reflect on the Old Testament predictions of His coming.   But have you ever wondered what God was doing between the two Testaments?    

  The gap between the Old and New Testament has been called “The 400 Silent Years” because God had stopped communicating directly with His people.     The book of Malachi was written around 430 BC  and closes with a prophesy  remarkably similar to the  first  divine communication recorded in the New Testament:

Malachi 4:5-6 says,   “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.  He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse"

Now fast forward  four centuries to when the Angel Gabriel appears,  

"Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for  your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and  you shall call his name John.   …and  he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and  the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”  (Luke 1:13)

But the 400 years of silence did not mean that God was on vacation.   He was busy fulfilling prophesy and paving the way for the Son's appearance.  During that time  Israel was overtaken   by  the Medo-Persia,  Greek,  and  Roman empires.    After the two exiles (2 Kings 17:23; 2 Kings 25:21) the majority of Israelites had not returned to Judah and  were settled outside of Palestine by the first century AD.

THE SEPTUAGINT

The conquest of Alexander the Great  in 332 BC introduced  Hellenism (Greek culture) to every place he had conquered.   One historian notes:   "The Greek language became the tongue of all government and literature throughout many countries where the people were not Greek by birth.” 1

Synagogues sprang up in regions where Hellenistic Jews spoke Greek.     Legend has it that around 250  BC  Ptolemy II,  the King of Egypt,  gathered 72 scholars to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek in 72 days which became known as the Septuagint (LXX),  the Latin word for 70.  

Up until recently many thought Jesus spoke  primarily  Aramaic,  but  scholars now believe Christ was tri-lingual.  One author writes: 

“The evidence available today indicates that Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek were commonly spoken in Israel in the first century A.D. … It seems reasonable to conclude that Jesus could speak Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.  …It is reasonable to conclude that the Gospel authors chose to record things which were originally spoken in Greek since they were writing in Greek” 2

And so we  see how God was shaping  events so that  both  Jew and Gentile could hear the Gospel.    For the Jew,  Gabriel’s  announcement of  John the Baptist’s birth  meant  God was  active  once again among His people  and was preparing the way  for the Messiah.   And for the Gentile, the  Old Testament was  widely available  in the  common language of  the people. 

 F.F. Bruce explains the importance of the Septuagint in spreading the Gospel at that time.

“As soon as the gospel was carried into the Greek-speaking world,  the Septuagint came into its own as the sacred text to which the preachers appealed.  It was used in the Greek-speaking synagogues throughout the Roman Empire.  When Paul at Thessalonica visited the synagogue on three successive Sabbaths and ‘argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead’ (Acts 17:2f.),  it was on the Septuagint that he based his arguments.   

 …The Septuagint played its part even when the gospel was presented to complete pagans, like the unsophisticated Lycaonians at Lystra, who mistook Paul and Barnabas for divine beings ” 3

The stage was set and the time had finally come for God to fulfill the promise.    Our Wonderful  Counselor,   Mighty God,  Eternal Father,  and  Prince of Peace (Is.9:6),   was revealed in human flesh in a lowly manger.  The Seed of the woman was poised to  crush the Serpent’s head.    The Son of God came into the world to defeat  Satan, sin, and death,  by  offering Himself as a spotless sacrifice for our sin and then raising Himself from the dead.   With His own precious blood Christ has purchased and redeemed  “a people for his own possession”.   

As we gather together to celebrate  let us  joyfully proclaim the “excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (I Pet.2:9)

Come, O Immanuel, come,
And set Thine Israel free;
In exile from our home,
We long and sigh for Thee:
O Saviour, come, on earth to dwell,
Thou, "God with us," Immanuel! 4

_________________________________________________

 

1. General Sketch of History by Edward Augustus Freeman; pg. 41
2. The Languages Spoken by Jesus by Aaron Tresham   
3. The Canon of Scripture;  F.F. Bruce,  Intervarsity Press; 1988; pg 49
4. Veni, Veni, Emanuel (the "O" Antiphons),  Authorship Unknown, 8th Century Latin
MacArthur Study Bible: Crossway;  2010;  Introduction to the Intertestamental Period
Image:  Ancient fragment of the Septuagint  SOURCE

My Favorite Advent Reading

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent. I started my Advent reading a few weeks ago, because I desperately need Christmas this year. I've collected some terrific books over the years. In the past, I've read one or two each season. Choosing just a few from among these treasures has proven difficult, so I'm trying to read them all.

Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation by Joel Beeke. These short devotions are part of my morning quiet time. Starting my day with a reminder of why Jesus came (to receive worship, to call sinners to repentance, to bring great joy) focuses my attention on my need for Christ during a season when the world clamors for my attention.

Behold the Lamb of God by Russ Ramsey. I finish the day with these slightly longer readings. This Advent Narrative draws me into the story of God's redemption of His people. Written more like a book than a devotional, this powerful little book is packed with Scripture references that give me much to ponder as my day draws to an end.

I generally read for a little while each evening, which gives me time for more substantial readings. I'm working through three excellent resources one at a time.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas edited by Nancy Guthrie. This collection of essays written by Tim Keller, Martin Luther, and others was my first Advent resource, and remains a favorite.

The Christ of Christmas by James Montgomery Boice. This compilation of Christmas sermons was my first exposure to Boice. I really enjoy his teaching.

The Incarnation in the Gospels (Reformed Expository Commentary) by Daniel Doriani. Another wonderful offering from the Reformed Expository series.

Finally, at the dinner table each evening we celebrate by lighting candles and reading Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent by Nancy Guthrie, which is perfect for families of all ages.


What about you, reader? Do you have any favorite Advent resources you'd like to share with us? We'd love to hear from you!

Finding What Matters in Christmas

From the 2010 archives of my personal blog.


Even with its candle glowing, the Advent altar looked bare. A new Nativity scene, perhaps? After all, what's Christmas without the baby?

I looked in several stores, finding nothing that fit. Then I remembered my girl's childhood set, given by a friend. It would be just right there.

Can we move it to the altar?

But it's mine. I want it in my room.

And how can a mother argue with that?

I remembered a set in the attic, a small one I don't use anymore. I offered that to her. Once again, I was content to offer my leftovers to this sweet child.  She reluctantly agreed.

When I went to find it, I found another I'd forgotten about. It fit perfectly.

I'm ashamed that I had casually tossed the Holy Family in with other Christmas decorations I no longer use...and there are many. I've tried numerous ways to deck our halls over the years, wanting to find the perfect combination befitting a magazine cover. I ran myself ragged, only to find that shiny baubles and figurines left me empty. Their loud shouts of look at me! drowned out the quiet of the manger.

This season is different.

Yes, there are still a few shiny baubles tucked among a small number of Santa Clauses from my youth.  There are sappy holiday movies. There will be Christmas cookies, parties, and gifts.

But in the hushed glow of the Christmas tree...

I gaze at the past - treasured decorations from my own childhood that bring to mind Christmases gone by.

I see the fiery love that has spanned nearly two decades - beautiful ornaments and trinkets given by my love.

I hear the quiet of the Heavenly hosts holding their breath in anticipation of God becoming man.

I feel the lump in my throat, as I swallow hard & resolve to no longer mar Christmas with my own self-indulgence.

I hear the beat of my own heart as I prepare Him room and wait expectantly for His arrival.

God Keeps His Promise

I can't imagine what went through Adam and Eve's minds after they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had lived in perfect communion with God, each other, and creation. But now, by their act of disobedience, sin ruined this harmony forever. Adam and Eve hid from their Creator. They were blame-shifting and about to be expelled from paradise. If I summed up all my moments of regret and multiplied them thousands of times over, perhaps it might come close to what they were feeling. But I also wonder if these words gave them hope even in the midst of the fall.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Gen. 3:15

Theologians call this verse the proto-evangelium, the first preaching of the gospel. One day a seed of the woman will deal a death-blow to Satan. This seed will suffer in the process, but he will be victorious, not just for himself but for all mankind. So God pronounced judgment, but He promised hope as well. 

I wonder if Eve remembered this promise when Seth was born after Abel's murder and Cain's banishment. Could he be the one? But Seth died, and subsequent generations after him lived and died. Yet this hope lived on and was fueled by hints and glimpses of the One who was to come - a ruler from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10) and an heir to David's throne who will reign in justice and righteousness forever (Is. 9:6-7). Despite the ebb and flow of history and the spiritual condition of His people, God would keep His promise.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Gal. 4:4-5

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matt. 1:20-21

So the incarnation fulfills God's promise in Genesis 3:15, the fleshing out of the proto-evangelium. Not just any descendant of Adam, but God the Son taking on human flesh, living a perfect life before God the Father, taking our deserved punishment on the cross, and dealing a death-blow to the Serpent. The Seed of the woman has won once and for all!

We have the benefit of looking back and tracing this thread from Eden to Bethlehem and ultimately to Calvary and the empty tomb. We can appreciate the longing of the Old Testament saints who believed that God keeps His promise even though they didn't live to see its fulfillment. In a sense, we are like them because we are hoping in God's promise, too. 

Jesus came once, but we are waiting for Him to come again. We may not understand or agree on the details of how it will unfold. History and the state of the Church will continue to ebb and flow. We may die and go home before Christ returns, but we can rest assured that God will keep His promise. 

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thess. 4:16-18.

Sources:

Sermons on Genesis by Pastor J. Ryan Davidson, Grace Baptist Chapel, September 2014 to present.

The "Proto-Evangelium", Paul Mizzi, Truth For Today.

Double Vision

To understand what my Savior means to me
You must look beyond Calvary.
No, I do not deny the impact of the Cross,
For it was there my Beloved paid the cost
Of my sin; my shame and guilt He did bear
So that I could look at my life and see Him here:

In the hug of a child, so precious and dear;
When she says say “I love you”, it’s His voice I hear.
In the love of a friend who holds my hand tight,
I can hear Him whisper, “My child, I’m here. Everything’s alright.”
When I was ready, He made me a wife
To a husband who ministers to me each day of my life.
So many other blessings I can’t begin to count.
I’m afraid if I do, I’ll leave something out.

But it’s this about my Jesus that I most truly love:
That He left His glorious home up above
To come to this world. My heart can’t comprehend
How He could leave His Father for this place of sin.
Born among animals. He died amidst thieves,
Ridiculed and mocked. Oh! Soul can’t you see
That my Jesus left Heaven that night long ago
Because He knew that years later I would be needing Him so!

I ask you to put the manger beside the Cross.
See them together, and realize God’s loss.
How it must have hurt to send His Son away,
Yet He did so, even knowing there would come a day
He would see Him, covered in blood,
So that His children might proclaim “JESUS IS LORD!”
And reconcile with Him in our Heavenly home;
This is the reason Jesus left His Throne.

Don’t focus on one and lose sight of the other.
To know the whole story, you must put them together;
The manger of hay and Calvary’s tree
Unite with the message: MY JESUS LOVES ME.

Why Christ Came - To Seek and Save the Lost

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house… And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.                   Luke 19:5, 9-10

A few weeks ago, our small group was discussing how Christ's first advent prepares us for His second. The pastor then posed a question: "Do we long for Christ's return?" One sister admitted that as much as she wants Jesus to come back, she wants Him to wait because some of her grandchildren aren't saved. I appreciated her honesty because this is something we can all relate to. We have family members and friends who have yet to put their faith in Christ. We've shared with them as best we can. We've prayed and wept, and our hearts ache for them.

During this season, we may be with loved ones who do not know the real Source of Christmas joy. But as long as there is time and breath, there is hope because this is one of the reasons Christ came - to seek and save the lost.

Many of God's people can remember what it was like to be without Christ, without hope, and without God in this world (Eph. 2:12). Some have lived this way in the world, while others were nurtured in the bosom of the church. Both types of people have the same sense that they are strangers to God and to grace.

Jesus came to seek these lost persons and save them. God in Christ is a seeker (Luke 15:3-6). Nineteenth-century British poet Francis Thompson affectionately refers to God as the "hound of heaven" in a poem by that name. The author recounts how he deliberately fled from God, but throughout his life he sensed he was being followed by feet that moved "with un-hurrying chase and unperturbed pace" to bring him to salvation. Without fail, God always gets His man.

When Christ came to Zacchaeus' tree, He called the little man by name. Given Zacchaeus' vocation as a tax collector, his name was probably often spoken in derision or disgust. But Jesus spoke his name with respect, enthusiasm, and purpose. No doubt to his own surprise, Zaccheus responded to Jesus hastily and joyfully (v. 6). The Lord knew Zacchaeus by name! And, by God's grace, Zacchaeus recognized the sound of his Shepherd's voice (John 10:16)!

Zacchaeus climbed a tree  out of curiosity to see Jesus. But God was drawing him up into the tree so that Christ might find him. Christ called him down from the tree to embrace him. That day Zaccheus came to know the life-changing experience of an anonymous poet:

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew

He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me.

It was not I that found, O Savior true;

No, I was found, was found of Thee.

Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation, Joel R. Beeke & William Boekestein, Reformation Heritage Books, 2013, pg. 62.

Why Christ Came - To Save Sinners

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15

For then must he have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26

In Christ's first coming, He implemented a rescue plan conceived in the mind of God before the foundation of the world. He did not come to promote holiday cheer, boost end-of-year sales, or serve as the central figure in a nativity scene. He came to save sinners.

To save sinners, Christ had to put away what makes people sinners - namely, sin. At the dawn of man's history, sin, like an unwelcome virus, infected mankind early enough. But how could it be exterminated? God was already answering this question through the Old Testament sacrificial system. One of the main themes in the epistle to the Hebrews is the repetitious labors of the Old Testament priests. "And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue because of death" (Heb. 7:23) Morning and evening, priests placed burnt offerings for sin on an altar, the fire of which was never to go out (2 Chron. 13:11; Lev. 6:12).

Nonetheless, sins were not fully, extinguished through this system (Heb. 10:4). Old Testament sacrifices were merely a shadow, or copy of what was to come (Heb 9:23); thus, the priesthood of Aaron could have sacrificed burnt offerings for a million years without putting away a single sin. The writer of Hebrews says the seed of Adam needed a better priesthood to put away sins - a priesthood "after the order of Melchisedec" (Heb. 7:17; cf. Ps. 11-:4). Likewise, a better sacrifice offered in a better tabernacle was necessary. When a truly perfect sacrifice was offered in the tabernacle of heaven, sin would finally be put away…

Christ put away the sins of many first by carrying them to the cross, and then to the grave (Heb. 9:28). The sins of God's people were crucified and buried in Christ (Rom. 6:4-5). So fully has Christ purged the believer's sins that Hebrews 9:28 adds, "Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." How staggering is the thought that we can eagerly anticipate the return of the Savior who was wounded of our transgressions!

Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations of the Incarnation, Joel R. Beeke & William Boekestein, Reformation Heritage Books, 2013, pp. 5-6.

The Purpose of the Incarnation

Once again it is time to turn our hearts toward the Incarnation, God become man. As we here at Out of the Ordinary examine our hearts to prepare Him room, we'll once again be blogging a little differently. While we step back from our usual fare, we pray that our offerings here will magnify His Name and help you celebrate the wonder of Christmas.

I do not know why it is, but we often lose a sense of purpose in telling the Christmas story. We focus so much on the birth of the baby and on the sentiment that goes with that story - and there is a certain amount of legitimate sentimentality that goes with it - that we miss the most important things. Actually, the story is treated quite simply in Scripture, and the emphasis is always on the fact that Jesus came to die. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, took a human body in order that He might die for our salvation...The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world with a purpose, and that purpose was to do God's will: to be our Savior. We miss the most important thing about Christmas if we fail to see that.

~James Montgomery Boice, The Christ of Christmas (19-20)

Immanuel, God with us

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Merry Christmas from all of us at Out of the Ordinary.

"...and THIS is Christmas?"

For our first Christmas tree that first year we were married, my husband and I went to a tree farm and he showed off his manly manliness for his bride by single handedly cutting down the tree carefully chosen after much (much!) deliberation. We hauled it up to our second floor apartment and proudly strung lights and hung ornaments.

We had precious few Christmas items that first year of our married life. Oh, we had several ornaments for our tree, my mom saving and adding to a collection of ornaments from the time I was a little girl. But beyond that there was little else with which to deck the halls.

For that first Christmas, I did purchase a white nativity set at a local craft show during my work lunch hour. Upon returning home from work that afternoon, I eagerly unpacked each piece, carefully placing it in just the right spot in the center of our kitchen table. Yes, the kitchen table. We had no other piece of furniture on which to place it! Mary, Joseph, the shepherd, the angel, the three wise men, the camels, the donkey, the sheep, all took their respective places in the Christmas tableau. That is, except for the baby Jesus. He was missing. Absent. Nowhere in the box. AWOL.

Providentially, the box had a sticker on its side containing the name and contact information of the seller. I called her and described my dilemma. She laughed and said, "It doesn't really make much sense without Him, does it?" She promptly mailed me a baby Jesus figurine.

I thought about her comment a couple of weeks ago as Christmas decorations and boxes and wreaths and other Christmas debris littered my den and dining room in my feeble attempt at decorating (or, not, as the case may be). I thought to myself, "and THIS is Christmas?"

I thought about her comment this week as I've hurried and scurried and rushed all over town to shop, shop, shop and spend, spend, spend, asking myself "and THIS is Christmas?"

Today I stood in (yet another) line, and commiserated with another mom as we complained of the frenzy and frantic busyness that mark Christmas, both of us confessing we hate it and how relieved we are when it's over already and I thought once again "and THIS is Christmas?"

It doesn't make much sense without Him, does it?

May my celebration of Christmas be marked by a sense of gratitude and awe. May I remember, and be thankful to God for, His indescribable gift. May I forgo the false gods of materialism and perfectionism and consumerism and instead worship the Only One worthy. May I rejoice, not in shopping or decorating or in giving and receiving, but that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory full of grace and truth. Let's behold His glory this Christmas season as we look beyond the manger to the cross and to the sacrifice of our Lord that accomplished for us forgiveness and redemption and life everlasting. Let us see Jesus!

Author's note: This post originally appeared on my personal blog in December 2007. 

Peace on earth

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

Luke 2:14 (KJV)

Such was the angelic announcement to shepherds in a field outside of Bethlehem. If I had been one of them, I would have been thrilled to hear this news. After wars, captivity, more wars, and now Roman invasion, who wouldn't want peace on earth?

Our time isn't very different. The world is still broken, and we long for the day when fear, conflict, and death will be things of the past. But where can we find this? Is peace possible through finding our better selves? The bumper sticker tells us to "Visualize World Peace", but even if every person on the globe obeyed, it wouldn't change things one bit. "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" sounds nice, but it doesn't get to the root because the problem is you. The problem is me.

We've been at war with God since the day Adam fell, and thus began the history of human strife, the rotten fruit of our rebellion against a good and holy God. There was nothing we could do to heal the breach. The debt we owed was greater than the budget deficit. We were without hope and without God in the world. But in a stable in Bethlehem, God intervened, and on a bloody cross, He displayed the full extent of His good will toward men through the death of His Son.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, Col. 1:19-22

This may seem more suitable for Easter than Christmas, but this is why Jesus came. The rightful King descended from His throne to save the rebels who were bent on overthrowing Him. The war was won by the Conqueror dying in the place of His enemies. The Guiltless bore the punishment of the guilty, and the unrighteous are declared justified. Instead of alienation and hostility, we are reconciled to God and to one another. Through Immanuel's death and resurrection, "God with us" is a reality.

Isn't this good news? This should ignite our praise. This should fuel our love for the lost and spur us to share the glad tidings far and wide. Jesus, who was born to die and rise, is hope for the hopeless and peace for the war-torn. Glory to God in the highest!

Note: The Advent series at my church is "Jesus, born to die and rise." This post was inspired by this sermon on Mark 15 by Pastor Ryan Davidson.

Christmas is for the Watchers

A busy weekend kept me away from the computer for several days (not that I'm complaining!). So, like Rebecca, I'm recycling a post from my personal blog. This one from last year, as my husband had just graduated from college and we were waiting for a job.



I light the candles scattered among our nativities, and my soul whispers the familiar word that dominates my thoughts.

Watch...

As our family keeps watch, I consider how that first Christmas was for the watchers.

Joseph, watching for a roof to shelter his betrothed, great with child. Watching for a place fitting to birth the Prince of Peace. Weariness from the journey did not deter him.  This night - this holy night - was for watching in awe as the Creator came to His creation, helpless and tiny.  

Mary, keeping watch over her newborn son and pondering the miraculous in her heart. Her song was sung long before. She praised God before her delivery. She praised God before her deliverance. This night - this silent night - was for watching over the Lord of All.

Shepherds, watching over their flocks that night. They worked though all of Israel groaned with the years of waiting to hear from God. Carrying out their duties as usual, not knowing that their lives were about to be radically changed.  Not men of much learning, but wise enough to leave the work behind and follow the Lord's proclamation. This night - this glorious night - was for watching God keep His promise in the most unexpected of ways.

Magi, watching the brightest star appear in the sky. At just the right time, it appeared to herald the incomparable work of God. Though they didn't have the Scriptures, they couldn't deny Him.  They left everything behind to find Him. This night - this wondrous night - was for watching God's brilliance overtake the darkness.

I watch the flames flicker, shadows dancing over the birth scenes. Despite Joseph's weariness, Mary's weakness, and the disappointing circumstances they found upon their arrival in Bethlehem - despite it all, God came.

And the world, not watching, missed it.

I close my eyes, think long about my own weariness, weakness, and disappointing circumstances. Then I glance again at the Babe, and I remember that God will come.

And so I keep watching.

In the Fullness of Time

I sat at my desk yesterday, working on a new piece to post here today, while family life swirled around me. The grandbaby was squawking, my son was trying to find a bootie for the dog's still-healing foot so he could take him snowshoeing, and my head was threatening to explode as I tried to keep track of it all. I escaped upstairs to iron the clothes I needed to wear for caroling last evening, and while I ironed, I decided to scrap the new post—which was turning out as disjointed as my afternoon—and enjoy the grandbaby and the wonderful winter weather.

So here's all I've got: an advent piece I wrote several years ago. We view the incarnation from the already-accomplished side of God's plan—and how blessed we are! This is a brief look from the other side, as God's glorious plan played out in redemption history.

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In eternity past, prior to his first creative command, God had a plan for the history of his creation. At the very centre of his plan was His own Son, foreordained to redeem humankind from the ruinous results of sin. That God’s own Son would come as Redeemer was at the heart of God’s purposeful will—the plan that he invariably works in all things to accomplish.

It was a glorious plan, but a plan yet to be revealed and a plan yet to unfold in history.  And then, piece by piece, God’s word revealed his purpose, and piece by piece, his command brought it to pass.

We have a hint of God’s redemptive plan in the curse of the serpent: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The plan is there in his promise to Abraham: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

It was according to his plan that God brought his people into captivity in Egypt and then raised up Moses as God's agent of redemption to bring them out from slavery, foreshadowing—anticipating—the greater Redeemer to come. The plan is there, too, when God gave the law—the perfect law written in stone, the perfect law that no one could keep, the perfect law that held people captive under a curse. It was this perfect law that showed the need for the great Redeemer to come. In all this, piece by piece, God’s word was revealing his purpose, and piece by piece, his command was bringing it to pass.

The prophets of old spoke, not according to their own will, but according to God’s plan, carried along by the disclosing work of the Holy Spirit, and moved by him to record those prophecies for us. God’s perfect plan raised up Isaiah, who prophesied of a virgin who would conceive a son whose name would be “God is with us.” God’s Spirit set Jeremiah apart from his mother’s womb to be a prophet to the nations, to reveal the coming new covenant when God’s perfect law would be written on his people’s hearts. These prophets, too, were pieces of the plan, teaching God's people to expect the day when their great Redeemer would come. Yes, piece by piece, God’s word was revealing his purpose, and piece by piece his command was bringing it to pass.

And then the counsel of his will called for the fulfillment of his promise. It was the right time according to his purposeful plan; it was the perfect time for everything to change.

It was the fullness of time.

A Mother's Heart

I once worked at a store where only one of my co-workers was male. The poor man managed to endure while we discussed shoes and hairstyles, but what he couldn’t abide was our childbirth stories.

He would usually try to protest, but when the conversation shifted, he would find a task that would take him elsewhere.

Women love childbirth stories. Like Melanie in Gone with the Wind, we tend to believe “the happiest days are when babies come.”

Christmas is no exception. We love the story of Jesus’ birth. And though we try to be realistic and remind ourselves of the third-trimester donkey ride and dirty stable, we still focus on the result -- the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.

If you’ve been a mother long enough, your child has disappointed you. Sometimes the disappointment cuts so deeply our hearts are broken. But all mothers, biological or adoptive, remember the joy and hope we felt the first time each child was placed in our arms.

Only one mother never had her heart broken by her child’s sin. Only one mother never had to accept that her child was not perfect. But that mother had her heart broken in a way that we can’t understand. She lived to see her nation reject the Messiah sent to save them. She lived to see her son die a violent, horrible death. As Simeon prophesied in Luke 2:35, she experienced a pain so deep it was like a sword that pierced her own soul.

I’m much closer in age to Mary at the foot of the cross than Mary at the manger. I can’t imagine the grief that flooded her mother’s heart as her son was beaten, spit upon, and nailed to a cross.

But Jesus was more than Mary’s son, he was also her Savior. Her son’s death secured her only hope of salvation. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, we can look past the pain and hurt of this world, past the sin that so easily entangles us (Hebrews 12:1-3) and look forward to the “hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

Jesus in our ordinary

I have a nativity that belonged to my grandmother. I'm not sure where she got it as I never saw it displayed in her home. Whether it was a gift or a bargain buy she couldn't pass up, I will never know. I do know that I am glad I have it, not only because it was hers but because I think it lovely and unique in that it has no babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. There's a baby, yes, but He is held in His mother's arms.

I have this nativity displayed on an end table in our family room. One day earlier this week I was eating my breakfast and reading my Advent devotional for the day when I glanced over to the nativity. There among Mary and Joseph and the shepherds was also a collection of books, a tv remote, my iPad, my plate of pumpkin bread and, of course, my cup of coffee.

Not to mention a fair amount of dust.

A housekeeper, I am not.

Nor am I a skilled iPhone photographer so please excuse the blurry photo.

My first reaction was one of dismay and maybe a little self-hatred, both in regard to my lack of housekeeping skills as well as our tendency to cover every horizontal surface in this house with all sorts of remnants of daily life: books, newspapers, mail, empty tea glasses, you name it. It doesn't seem right, somehow, for baby Jesus to be surrounded by dirt and dust and the ordinary accoutrements of our day-to-day living. Jesus and the tv remote? It seems almost sacrilegious. Maybe I should put Him on a top shelf somewhere, away, protected, safe, special.

But isn't that just what Christmas is, Jesus in our ordinary? The Son of God not considering equality with God something to be grasped, but making Himself nothing, taking on human form, coming to earth as a baby (Phil. 2:6-8). What an ordinary plan! What humility! We might set out to save the world via the sort of Savior born into wealth and prestige and certainly privy to our modern conveniences of satellite broadcasts and twitter feeds and 24 hour news cycles, not to mention deodorant and tailored suits and air conditioning. And epidurals.

Not so God. When the time had fully come He sent forth His Son (Gal. 4:4), to a family in poverty enduring oppression under a hostile regime. He was born in a stable, among livestock. Can you imagine the dirt and the smell? What a place to give birth! What a place to cradle your newborn Son--in a manger, a feeding trough!

The humility of Jesus' birth, the humility of His life and His death, all are echoed in Paul's assertion that for our sake He who was rich became poor so we through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Jesus entered into the dust and dirt of this world so that we might know the glory and the beauty of life in Him and with Him. We are rich indeed, we who have Christ.

While it's certainly not the sort of Christmas decorating that will grace the pages of my Southern Living magazine, I find that a nativity surrounded by real life is in some ways wholly appropriate. Jesus in my ordinary revealing the extraordinary. What grace. What condescension. Hallelujah, what a Savior.

Christ Incarnate - The Sinner's Only Hope

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21

"There was no hope for any sinner unless the Son of God Himself should save him. But the apostle Paul, writing to his son Timothy, says, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;.” (1 Tim. 1:15) You may measure the depth of our danger by the glory of the person of Him who undertook to deliver us from it. It is the Son of God, whom angels worship, who has come “to save sinners.” It must be a deep destruction from which only God Himself could rescue man...

"Jesus Christ did not come into the world to help you to forget your sin. He has not come to furnish you with a cloak with which to cover it. He has not appeared that He may so strengthen your minds (as some men would have you believe,) that you may learn to laugh at your iniquities, and defy the consequences thereof. For no such reason has the Son of God descended from Heaven to earth. He has come, not to lull you into a false peace, not to whisper consolation which would turn out to be delusive in the end, but to give you a real deliverance from sin by putting it away, and so to bring you a true peace in which you may safely rejoice. For, if sin be put away, then peace is lawful; then rest of spirit becomes not only a blessing which we may enjoy, but which we must enjoy, and which, the more we shall enjoy it, the better shall we please our God. 0 sinner, the good tidings that we bring to you, in the Gospel, are not the mere glitter of a hope that will delude you at the last, not a present palliative for the woe you feel, but a real cure for all your ills, a sure and certain deliverance from all the danger that now hangs over you!

From Christ Incarnate - The Sinner's Only Hope, Christ's Incarnation, The Foundation of Christianity by C. H. Spurgeon (emphasis mine)

Following a Theme to the Manger and Beyond

The Holy Family
by Rembrandt (1634)

A few years ago, I started a Christmas/Advent scripture reading tradition. I began following a theme—one that Christ fulfills—through scripture from beginning to end.

This is not like doing a word study; it's not a word, but a topic or idea that's traced through scripture. It's a rewarding exercise, but it takes a bit of thought and planning, and a general knowledge of the Bible. 

I usually read one passage per day, starting so that I finish right before Christmas. Though I've planned what texts to  read—and even read them while I'm planning—I still get excited as the readings build, first toward the coming of Jesus, then, in some cases, through the work of the Spirit in the new covenant, and finally, in anticipation of the consummation.

So far, I've done light, glory, dwelling place (or tent, tabernacle) and miraculous birth. This year I'm thinking of doing king.

Confused? Let me show you by tracing the theme of miraculous birth through the Bible. 

• The creation of Adam and Eve - Genesis 2:7, 20-22 (These aren't really births, but they are God's miraculous creation of human life, so I've decided they fit. )
• The birth of Isaac - Genesis 17:15-17, 18:1-3, 9-15, 21:1-3.
• The birth of Esau and Jacob - Genesis 25: 21-24.
• The birth of Joseph - Genesis 30:1-2, 22-23.
• The birth of Samson - Judges 13:2-7, 24.
• The birth of Samuel - 1 Samuel 1:1-20
• The birth of John the Baptist - Luke 1:57-66
• The birth of Jesus - Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-24, Luke 2:1-7
• The new birth - John 1:12-13, 1 Peter 1:3-5
• Our adoption as sons and the redemption of creation - Romans 8:19-23

Are there more texts you would add to this list?

I've posted the texts I used to follow the themes of light and glory, too. Can you think of other themes that might work?

You are welcome to use this list or the linked ones for your own purposes. Better yet, choose a theme and trace it through the Bible yourself.