December 2009

“A Time for Reflection”

You’re already thinking about December 25^th, aren’t you? The very mention of this date fills our hearts with delight and floods our minds with fond memories of those Christmas days now past. Many of us can clearly recall those childhood years when we excitedly leapt from our beds in anticipation of what awaited us on what we hoped would be a snowy winter’s morn. We hurried to gather around the tree and examine the many gifts that could be found resting underneath its branches. Gifts concealed in glittering foil and adorned with colorful ribbons were swiftly torn open with reckless abandon. After this festive tradition was completed, we hurried to dress and make our way to church. There we would join with countless other voices in singing those precious carols in which we so delight. Later, we would return home to find our living rooms still littered with the wrap and open boxes from that morning’s exchange of presents. However, this time of celebration was not over yet. We would soon feast upon those elaborate meals that had been lovingly prepared for our enjoyment. As we reveled in these cherished moments, the sun slowly sank into the western sky and the room grew gradually darker until it was illuminated only by the radiant glow of a crackling fire. The day’s end would be accompanied by a distinct sense of melancholy. All the anticipation that had led up to this long-awaited day had once again reached its climax far too swiftly.

Christmas comes and goes too quickly, doesn’t it? The day that marks our Lord’s Nativity continues to be viewed by many as little more than a conclusion to an all too brief holiday season. Another December 25th is quickly torn from the calendar, taking its place in history. In its wake, many of us are often left feeling as though there is nothing left to which we can look forward. Take heart! The arrival of Christmas day does not signal an end to our celebration. By contrast, it marks the beginning of an extraordinary chain of events unmatched in all of human history.

Of course, our church calendar might seem to contradict this statement. The season of Advent officially ushers in the new church year well in advance of our annual Christmas celebration. What do we think about during Advent? Our attention is directed to that time of Christ’s final return, to the hour of judgment for all mankind. This is the judgment that had been set in motion in the Garden of Eden. This is the same judgment that continued to be compounded by generation after generation of sinful men. All would be “brought forth in iniquity”, conceived in sin (Ps. 51:5). Hence, Advent is a time for reflection. We come face-to-face with the inescapable nature of our own sinfulness. In Advent, our undeniable need for deliverance from God’s righteous judgment and eternal wrath is revealed. Who could deliver us from this body of death?

We find the answer to this question of eternal importance in a small town called Bethlehem. It is there, on that first Christmas day, that a child would be born of woman in the humblest of circumstances. This marks only the beginning of a remarkable journey for that babe in a manager and for all of us. He is the One who would be called Jesus, “for He will save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21b). He is the One of whom the heavenly host would proclaim "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14). He had come to seek and save the lost. He had come to save us. He came to not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. He came in order to be nailed to the cross for our deliverance. He came to us in victory when He declared, “It is finished”. He is Immanuel, the “God with us” in whose birth we will rejoice on Christmas morning. Rejoice in His blessed birth every day of your life.

After all those gifts that we receive on Christmas morning are finally unwrapped, we may inadvertently catch ourselves looking pensively back upon the events of the past several weeks. Rather than lament the passing of those days gone by, dwell upon that Good and Perfect Gift that came to us on that first Christmas and continues to come to us from above. Fix your eyes upon the Author and Perfecter of your faith. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Unlike the treasures we store up for ourselves on earth, these are the priceless treasures that Mary stored up and pondered in her heart. These are the priceless treasures that the shepherds couldn’t wait to share with others. Like Mary, let us continue to ponder His treasures in Word and Sacrament. Like the shepherds, let us waste no time in sharing these treasures with others, proclaiming the Good News that has been made known to us, praising and glorifying Him for all we have heard and seen.  Let us do continually, without hesitation, this very day... as we recall His final words in the Book of Revelation (22:20). “I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with God’s people during this celebration of His Blessed Nativity and throughout the coming year. Amen.