Advent Reflections - December 23

Love

“The angel answered,“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

 Luke 1:35

Reflection

As we read these words, it’s easy to imagine some of the thoughts that must have been racing through Mary's young mind. “Why me?”, “There’s nothing special about me!”, “I’m not good enough.”, “I’m too young.”, “I’m not ready for this!”, “This isn’t what I had planned!” But yet here she was, facing a choice that was actually not really a choice at all when you think about it. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” God chose Mary. An ordinary woman, with human faults like anyone else, recognized that the love of God was about to overwhelm humanity and that she would be used as its vessel. 

How often do we question ourselves when God wants to use us? Instead of recognizing the awesome fact that the God of all creation chooses to use flawed human beings, we resist thinking that we know better than God. Mary wasn’t perfect. She was afraid, confused and maybe even doubted herself a bit, yet God still chose her. With all her fears, imperfections and questions, she heard the call of God, chose not to hesitate and acknowledged that his plan was obviously much bigger than hers. In love, God chose her and in obedience, she was willing to say, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

  As the season of Advent comes to a close, may we set aside our plans, hesitations and fears of imperfection. May we trust in a God that chooses to use us, not because he has to, not because we are perfect, but because he loves us, and nothing more. 

 

Prayer

Lord God, it is in this quiet moment that we acknowledge your presence and perfect love for us. We know that we are far from perfect, and we know that our imperfections sometimes hold us back. But as we meditate on your perfection, help us to trust in you and that your decisions are always right. Give us the strength to step forward when you call, knowing that it is because of your love that you chose us. Let it be only in love that we serve you.

Amen 

Advent Reflections - December 22

Love
 

"and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote,
“His name is John.”
… And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Luke 1:76-79

Reflection

There are not many things closer to a miracle than the birth of a child. With each and every life that comes into the world, also comes a very specific purpose. Each life is uniquely created by God and every parent has high aspirations for their children. When a mother or father looks into their baby’s eyes for the first time, there is no limit to the dreams that they imagine. The love that is created in that moment knows no end and has no limit. Love is such a powerful emotion and encompasses the theme of our verse for today.

These words that we read from the Gospel According to Luke are just a portion of what is often referred to as Zechariah’s Song. Zechariah was the father of John the Baptist, who upon his birth prophetically declared that his son would go before Jesus to prepare the way for his ministry. In that moment, he not only declared his love, hopes and dreams for his son, but the hopes and dreams of the entire world as well.

Zechariah knew that his son was chosen by God to prepare the way for Christ. And although his love for his son outweighed anything that he ever imagined, he knew that his purpose was much more than just carrying on a family name. For in the moment that he gave the name John to his son, he acknowledged that he was destined for something much greater. Zechariah acknowledged that God would eventually use his son, to reveal his love to the world, manifested in the one that John would go before: Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Lord, it’s hard for us to imagine a love deeper than that between father and son. As we read these words of Zechariah, let us remember the deep love that you have for each of us. A love so deep that you sent your only Son to one day die for the same world into which he was humbly born.

    Amen    

Advent Reflections - December 21

Love

“For God so loved the world

that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life..”

John 3:16

Reflection

Today we continue our journey into the forth and final week of Advent. We look back on the Hope that we have in Christ, his Peace that transcends our circumstances and the Joy that comes from a God that loves each of us despite our success or failure. We now reflect on that everlasting Love that God has for each and every one of us. The words of John 3:16 call to us from the prophecies of the Old Testament, are fulfilled in the birth of Christ and come to completion in his eventual death and resurrection. This common thread of God’s love stretches through the entire message of the Bible and reaches out to us in the most essential and holistic attribute of who God is. God is love. And His love is revealed in its purity through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Love is an all encompassing emotion; bringing both the greatest of joy and the deepest of pain. It’s no wonder that God uses love to illustrate who he is and what his kingdom is all about. In divine dichotomy, Jesus’ life on earth represented both the pinnacle of pain and suffering, and the deepest illustrations of love possible.  

As we celebrate this last Sunday of Advent, in the quiet of this moment, let us reflect not on the sufferings of life, but on the inexpressible joy in the birth of Christ. Reflect on the moment when God broke through this earthly realm, descended from his heavenly dwelling and made himself one of us. In the first breath that he drew, the love of God was revealed in a humble infant. The essence of love was revealed and became an earthly reality. Immanuel, God with us!                 

Prayer

Most Gracious and Loving God, as we celebrate this last Sunday of Advent, we remember the deep love that you have for us. In the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ, we truly see how much you love the world. Let us remember that single truth regardless of our circumstances, regardless of who we are, what we’ve done or will do. Your love is eternal.  Your love is true. Your love is real. Your love is You. You are love.

   Amen   

Advent Reflections: December 20

JOY

"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.” 

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene."

Mathew 2:13-23

Reflection

We like to be in control, don’t we? Like the favorite circus act, we like to attempt to keep as many plates spinning at one time as possible. Living in a self-driven individualistic culture, we’re taught from an early age the myth that control equals success, and lack of control reveals failure. When we feel that we’re in control, we feel better about ourselves and better than others. We feel a sense of accomplishment and peace that everything is right in our little world. We continue to try our best to control all of our circumstances, and we might succeed for a period of time. But eventually we realize that too many plates are spinning. One by one, they begin to slow down. We do our best to keep them spinning, but they soon begin to wobble, and inevitably crash at our feet. We stand there, feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and defeated, wondering how we kept the plates spinning in the first place.

Today we reflect on the story of Mary and Joseph’s flight to Egypt with Jesus. At first glance, we might have the tendency to see a picture of circumstances that appear completely out of control. When reading these words and putting ourselves in this young couples place, we can imagine many plates spinning and a frantic attempt to keep them from crashing down. Mary and Joseph are new parents. That’s one plate. And their new baby happens to be God’s only Son. Now there are two plates spinning. They are warned by an angel that Herod is planning to kill Jesus (third plate), and they now have to flee the stability of home and move to Egypt. Four plates. Add the daily worries of food, shelter and the absence of the comfort of family, and they have five plates spinning at once.  

After three years of living in a foreign and unfamiliar country, they are told by God that the coast is clear. They can finally return home. Just as it seems that all the plates are now spinning in unison and things are under control, another is added to the balancing act. With five plates now beginning to wobble, Mary and Joseph find that they will have to build a new life in obscure little town called Nazareth. How many plates are spinning at this point?   

As we come to the end of the third week of Advent, we might ask ourselves how “Joy” can be found in this story of spinning plates. From our perspective, we may only see a series of events that would cause most of us stress and anxiety. We see a situation that seems confusing, frustrating and apparently becoming more out of control with each passage. But it is in the last verse that we grasp the true perfection and stability of this situation. “So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”  

Everything was divinely fulfilled exactly how God intended it to be. Every detail of Mary and Joseph’s situation was under God's control, and although the bible tells us nothing of what they were going through emotionally, somehow I think they were doing OK. Somehow I think that despite the overwhelming circumstances that surrounded them, they chose to trust in the God that had fulfilled His promise. No plates were spinning. None wobbled and fell to the ground. In fact, I don’t think the balancing act ever began.      

            

Prayer

Lord, as we conclude this third week of Advent, enable us to remember that our joy does not come from our circumstances. It doesn't come from how much control we have in our life or how in control we may appear to others. Our joy comes only through our complete trust in you and our faith that you keep our lives in complete balance. 

Amen