Love

On the second Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of Love to signify the love of God that reaches out to embrace us and the entire world.

A love that is stronger than kings and empires, stronger than grief or despair, stronger even than death.

1 John 4:19

We love, because God first loved us.

Hard to do, in the world we live in today. Hard to do in the community we live in, or even our homes sometimes.

Hard to love the “unlovable”, especially when they hurt us.

Hard to love those who not only don’t love us, but maybe even hurl insults at us.

But the Love of God, made flesh in Jesus Christ, enters our world just the same – uninhibited by our failure to love the way He does -  unconditionally.

The same Jesus who teaches us to love our enemies and even pray for those who persecute us.

The same Jesus, who takes His first earthly breath in Bethlehem, who asks His Father to forgive those who just moments before, nailed Him to a cross and stand guard as He breathes His final breath on earth.

1 John reminds us that we love, not because others have loved us, or even because they deserve it.

No, we love because God first loved us – as unlovable as we are or can be.

Love enters into our world, and nothing will ever be the same.

Praise God!

Hope

John's Gospel speaks of Jesus as "the true light coming into the world". To remind ourselves of His entrance into history, we light candles for the four weeks leading to up Christmas Day, and reflect on the meaning of Christ’s coming for us and for the world. 

We live in a dark and broken world. So it is fitting that the first candle we light in our Advent wreath is known as the candle of Hope - an expression our longing for the healing of hearts and the restoration of all creation.

The prophet Micah writes:

as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.

German Reformed theologian Jurgen Moltmann is known for his development of a theology of Hope and helps us to gain an understanding of why this is a central aspect of our faith:

       For a Christian theology of hope, this hope is not a modern phenomenon which must be interpreted religiously, but the subject and the motivation of theology itself. It is not grounded in optimism, but in faith. It is not a theology about hope, but a theology growing out of hope in God. These promises of God have been incarnated in the promissory history of Israel and in the promissory history of Jesus of Nazareth. The writings of the Old and New Testament comprise the history book of God's promises. The Bible tells the story of God's hope which will be fulfilled in the whole world. It does not relate its story in the manner of a teller of fairytales -- "once upon a time . . . " - or of a modern historian who wants to know how it "really was then" (Ranke). It recounts the past in such a way that through it a new future and freedom for the hearers are inaugurated. It reveals the future in the past and makes God's hope present by means of the remembrance of his historical association with Israel, the covenant, and with Jesus Christ, the incarnation. It recounts the story of the anticipations of God's future in this past a matter of real concern again.
- Jurgen Moltmann, The Experiment Hope, Fortress Press, 1975, p. 45

To walk in hope, as a follower of Christ, is not simply to be optimistic. Instead, it is to live with a sense of purpose, knowing that we walk in the presence of the living God, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

Advent

 

The word Advent means to "await the arrival of something important".
I have to say, I have had my share of advent moments: waiting for a letter or a package to arrive; anticipation of an impending vacation; the birth of three sons.

Obviously, some of those moments have more weight and importance than others, but all of them bring the feeling of excitement, mixed with mystery.

But as for the season of Advent in the life of this community we call the church, it seems we have lost that anticipation.

Maybe it's because we have "been here and done this" before. Trimmed the tree, shopped for gifts, wrapped the presents, prepared and eaten our favorite foods, etc., etc., etc.

Not that those things fail to bring a sense of joy or excitement, but perhaps their familiarity, as the old saying says, brings with them a sense of contempt.

The excitement and mystery has faded.

So, if our familiarity of the events we celebrate at Advent have robbed us of our anticipation, what does Advent become for us?

For me, I refer back to a Puritan Prayer (see below) that re-orients me to the reality of the incarnation of Jesus (God in the flesh) and what that really means for me/us.

When we remember what the season really represents for us, the excitement and mystery return.

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,
cast off that I might be brought in,
trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend,
surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best,
stripped that I might be clothed,
wounded that I might be healed,
athirst that I might drink,
tormented that I might be comforted,
made a shame that I might inherit glory,
entered darkness that I might have eternal light.

My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes,
groaned that I might have endless song,
endured all pain that I might have unfading health,
bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem,
bowed his head that I might uplift mine,
experienced reproach that I might receive welcome,
closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness,
expired that I might for ever live.

-A Puritan Prayer in the Valley of Visio

Knowing the lengths to which God has gone to secure my redemption renews in me an attitude of thankfulness and anticipation - for what God has already done and what He is still doing, in me.

Knowing that Jesus in the flesh has ushered in my salvation -  what could be more important?

 

Thankful

Is it just me, or have you noticed it as well? The stores that we frequent were recently filled with candy for Halloween and almost before the night was over, the shelves were filled with Christmas decorations.

Did I miss something? Isn't there a holiday between Halloween and Christmas?

It makes me wonder. Is this an indicator of the lives we live?

I find it more than ironic that we seem to move from one holiday that is all about getting as much candy as we can, to another holiday that seems to have transformed into a day focused on getting as many gifts as we can.

What happened to Thanksgiving?

And I am not just talking about the holiday, which could easily be seen as yet another day, all about me - filling up on sweet potatoes and pecan pie. (Those are for me, by the way, so stay out of them - just kidding!)

I'm talking about taking the time to be thankful, or having an "attitude of gratitude" as the rule, not the exception.

Honestly, we don't need a day to be thankful, though being intentional helps, but it is usually only when we take the time to reflect on all we have - all that God has blessed us with - that we begin to be thankful.

What we really need is perspective.

Seeing life as more than just sweets and treats - the constant pursuit of things that momentarily take away our loneliness, or our self-doubt, or our worry and grief.

Life is, and can be, so much more.

Jesus says so clearly for us what our perspective should be in Matthew 6 -

 ⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

When we realize that God provides for us, then what we have is not what makes us happy.

That we have what we have - that is the reason to be thankful.

Thankful - not so much for what I have, but for a heavenly Father who already knows and meets my needs.

That is a reason to be thankful, and a reason to take the time to be thankful.

Now, could someone pass the sweet potatoes?