He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”JOHN 1:20
How many of us have fallen in the same trap as those during the time of John the Baptist? Either looking for a Messiah or allowing ourselves to think we can be a Messiah. We get caught thinking we can handle or control the situation. How can the birth of child in a manger remind us that God is still in control of our life and the life of the world?
Rejoice always,I THESSALONIANS 5:16
A simple yet difficult task for all of us. Paul urges us to stay faithful as we watch and wait for the LORD to come again. Our lives should be one of faith, hope, and love; rejoicing in the time as we wait for the moment of God’s arrival.
Those who go out weeping bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.PSALM 126:6
God has a way of restoring the fortunes of the weeping and turning weeping into joy. Throughout this season we are reminded that not everything is perfect in this world. Pain and suffering are evident at every turn. The people of God have been looking forward to a moment when God would break into the world and restore it to its rightful order. Restoration for the world is now at hand.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;ISAIAH 61:1
Isaiah 61 pushes against the contemporary notions of joy especially during this season. It seems to point to a community whose joy will be found in helping the captives, the hurting and the oppressed. Instead of a community that turns it eyes inward, the eyes of the community are turned towards our neighbors. Our joy is found not in the message of consumerism: “buy more, spend more, and want more”. The joy Isaiah and later Jesus speaks of is a joy that is transforming the community to see others as better than themselves.
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.MARK 1:1
Sometimes we just need some good news. In a world dominated by death, hate and destruction we are reminded that at a moment in history something BIG happened to the world. The world stopped to take notice of a birth, a message and a movement.
But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.2 PETER 3:13
In this season we are reminded that God has not forgotten about God’s people. While us or those around us may lose their hope in the promises of God. God has not lost hope in us. And this is the message of the Good News to come. This is the message of hope that is quietly piercing the temporary darkness of separation and abandonment.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.PSALM 85:1-2; 8-13
We are reminded in this season of Christmas that faithfulness has indeed become present. God fulfilled His promise in the birth of a child in a manger. God announced His salvation of the world through the crying screams of a child. Let us today to be reminded of God’s promises and faithfulness to His creation.
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.ISAIAH 40:1
The prophet’s words were needed in this moment of questioning. The words of Isaiah, “Don’t worry, everything will be all right”, while a cliché were needed in this time of little to no hope. Isaiah 40 is word of promise to the exiled people of God that God has not abandoned them. God is working in the very moment of exile to bring about a new hope of restoration for the people.
Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.Mark 13:26
We remember the first Advent: God coming in the flesh. We were not prepared for you to come as one of us in this way. This week prepare our hearts to live as people awaiting your next Advent. Come, Lord Jesus come!
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.Psalm 80:3
Restoration: taking something old and making it new once again. Today we remember the old story of a child being born in a manger. Our prayer is this old story can cause our lives to be made new again. We have seen and experienced restoration in the face of a child. May we find the light of restoration today in the many faces we encounter today.
