I wrote one of my favorite devotions last year for Christmas – Gifts Under Your Tree – Love Gives. Check it out if you want a Christmas message.
This year, I want to focus on the season of Advent. I grew up in a church that placed more emphasis on the times of the church year and I see a lot of the advantages of having that base for my faith. We are creatures of habit and the yearly cycle, seasons, and celebrations were ordained by God. There is something about the length of a year – the cycle of birthdays and holidays and school sessions – that is significant to us and brings a sense of peace. Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas, it is a time to prepare for the coming of Jesus first as a baby and now as we eagerly await his return. It is also a time to reflect on God’s promises. Some people use advent wreaths- a circle with no beginning or end that reminds us of God’s unending love. It has five candles to help us focus on hope, love, joy, peace, and the fifth or middle one is the Christ candle to be lit on Christmas day. The candles also help us remember that Jesus is the light of the world!
We are supposed to use this time to ready our hearts for the coming of the savior. But, let’s be honest . . . sometimes it seems like overkill to do this year after year. Jesus only came once and I’ve already asked him to forgive me! Why do I need to prepare for his birth again? Or sometimes this time of year catches up to us and we aren’t quite ready for it. Maybe this is just me, but there are years I’m not ready for the season of giving, the season of craziness and parties and celebrations. And I think that is the point. It always seems like each year around this time we DO need to take some time to prepare. We HAVE gotten a little swept up in the commercialism of the other events of the year. We NEED to be reminded why Jesus came, why God sent him, why we needed to be saved. We have all had life events that have affected us both positive and negative since the last time we pondered and celebrated the birth of Christ. In many ways, we might have a clearer view of God’s love for us that helps us appreciate the season in a new way, or we might need to struggle through some tough questions and spend a little time wrestling with him as part of this year’s celebration. And that is what Advent is all about.
I was going to title this message “Love Prepares” because that is focus of Advent. But I realized that would be putting things from our point of view. I don’t think that I can ever truly be prepared for what Jesus did for me. There is no amount of candle burning, reviewing symbology, meditating, reading the Christmas story, Advent devotions, decorating, or celebrating that will get me 100% of the way to God. And that is ok. Mary and Joseph weren’t ready to be parents, let alone raise the savior of the world. The wise men were waiting and watching for Jesus but they weren’t prepared to find him in a humble home instead of at the palace. The shepherds were just doing their jobs and didn’t even know they needed to be prepared for the birth of the Christ. The Israelites were waiting but didn’t understand the prophecies. And the rest of the world was clueless about his arrival. Jesus came anyway!
We are not so different today. We know Christmas is coming, we know we need to get ready. We know we should be spreading love and light to others around us. But some of us have lost loved ones this year and Christmas is going to be hard. Some of us have lost jobs or had health issues. Some of us have had the best year of our lives and are distracted by all the good things. And Jesus comes anyway. Just like he didn’t wait for the world to be ready before he was born, he comes to meet us in the midst of our lives today. He comes for the broken hearted, he comes for the addicts, the homeless, and the hurting. He doesn’t wait for us to be ready, he comes because he loves us. God did what we couldn’t. He sent his son who came to earth, he came to save us.
See if you can find yourself in the scripture from the words of Isaiah written about the savior 700 years before he arrived.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
Isaiah 61:1
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
What a list of promises. He didn’t say to us, get yourself together and then I’m come make a deal. He didn’t say, stop sinning, get yourself all prepared, and then I’ll come. He came in the middle of our mess. What an amazing love. Love Comes!
