Love and sharing the Good News

Merry Christmas Eve!  With Christmas now only a day away we are preparing to switch gears from Advent to Christmas; from the longings in exile to the joy and good news which has come into the world.  Our messiah is coming.  Through Jesus's birth we see God's love demonstrated; we see the lengths He has gone through to show His love of us to us.  Jesus went on a missions trip to Earth to be our good news.

We remember the awesome truth of Emmanuel ("God with us") who came to this dark and lonely world.  God is with us and we can rest in the truth of His love.  We have the assurance that humanity in all our depravity cannot push God from this world.  Try as we have throughout human history, we cannot eclipse His love; we cannot make Him who is faithful give up.  God's love for this world is too great to be drowned out, and this incomprehensible truth continues to bring me awe.

With this in mind, an often un-discussed but central topic to Christmas is the un-reached people groups of the world.  We can relate to the people of Israel who waited in darkness for the coming of the Lord, and now we too are waiting for the Second Coming.  Our hope is in the assurance Jesus is coming back to bring us home.  Our exile will end and we will be with God.  As we prepare to celebrate Jesus's birth and His Second Coming, there are almost 3 billion (Joshua Project) people who have not heard the truth of Jesus's first coming.  Christmas is about the good news coming to Earth; not to certain regions, not only to the Church, but the whole world.

John the Baptist was sent ahead of Jesus to "prepare the way of the Lord" as testified by all four Gospel authors.  He fulfilled Isaiah 40:3-5 and went before Jesus to be the voice crying out in the wilderness.  John's great task was to go into a dark world and begin testifying about Jesus to any and all who would listen; he prepared the way for Jesus's first coming.  Similarly our great task is to (like John) go before Jesus and prepare the way for His second coming.  Like John we are called to be the voice in the wilderness crying out "prepare the way of the Lord."  We are not called the comfortable, we are not called to the complacent; we are called to "the wilderness" and "the desert".  Our task is not an easy one; we are called to serve the hard, dry, and resistant areas.  Finding such places does not require stepping much beyond our front doors, but on a global scale we have to consider the regions and people groups who have no access to the good news of Jesus.

As we transition from Advent to Christmas may we remember the un-reached who have not heard about our Emmanuel.  We will once again celebrate the truth that Jesus has come into the world and life will never be the same.  May we be people who will take this truth, the light of this good news, and carry it to those still in darkness who have no hope.  May we not look to the Second Coming without thinking to share the message of the First with all the world.

What's the deal with the pink Advent candle?

I don't know your traditions, if you have these traditions, but growing up the four Sundays of Advent were Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. This last Sunday was the third Sunday of Advent and therefore Joy. Another tradition I have often seen in Advent wreaths is having the third candle be pink instead of the typical purple color of Advent. I did a little digging (wikipedia) to find the story behind this pink candle and have discovered the following.

The third Sunday of Advent is called "Gaudete Sunday" in the liturgical calendar, and "gaudete" is Latin for "rejoice". Historically this Sunday's mass begins with Philippians 4:4-6.

But why the pink candle? Turns out the candle is pink to help distinguish and highlight this Sunday and specifically the theme of joyful anticipation of Jesus's coming into the world. I find this idea intriguing.

I don't know about you, but I experience Advent as a quiet and contemplative season of the year. I enjoy reflecting upon the melancholy themes of exile and walking in darkness before Christ's triumphant entry. Just as we are waiting for the light of Christmas and Jesus's first coming, the whole world is still waiting for the light of Jesus's second coming.

But Christmas is not only about the solemn reflection upon the state of the world, it is a joyful celebration of Emmanuel, our God who came to be with us. After being rejected by humanity God in His goodness He sent us His Son. Jesus came back to this dark world which He could have easily given up on (I would not blame Him if He had). We have hope, peace, joy and love because Jesus has come into the world. Jesus is coming and nothing will ever be the same.

And so it is fitting for Christmas to be a fun and festive season; to give gifts, sing carols, eat cookies, and be with family. Our God is a God of celebration. In the Torah He very specifically called the Israelites to celebrate three festivals in remembrance of what God had done for them (Passover, Booths, and Pentecost). It is only appropriate we too be a people of celebration as we remember all the Lord has done for us.

Yes this world is still in darkness, but we joyfully await Jesus's triumphant return.

What a candle taught me about Advent

A few years ago I had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with my sister in Copenhagen Denmark.  Without Thanksgiving to get in the way the whole city was in full Christmas-mode.

A fun Danish Christmas tradition my sister showed me is burning Advent calendar candles (pictured) called a kalenderlys.  The idea is simple enough, each day you burn one day's worth of candle counting down until Christmas.

This last summer we found one of these candles in our travels, and for the month of December I have been burning the candle each day.  This task is nice and cozy, but it has required more intention than I initially expected.  Each day I am forced to find time for the day's burning.  This requires me to plan my days in such a way I will have time for the kalenderlys.  If a day were to be missed I know the little golden numbers on the candle would be there taunting me until the time had been redeemed.

It's amazing how restful it is to daily spend time watching a candle burn.  Since I can't leave the flame unattended, I am required to sit and be still.  So far the time burning the kalenderlys is either spent praying or sitting with my wife Emily (my two favorite people).  The Advent calendars I had growing up (opening a door each day) helped me count the days until Christmas, but they did not require a daily pause from me.  A picture or Bible verse can be merely glanced at; a candle takes time to burn.  I am held accountable for spending time each day resting and reflecting upon the miracle of Emmanuel.

I don't know about you, but I at least can make the idea of spending time with Jesus into this great overwhelming task.  Jesus did not come to add clutter to our lives, but we have a knack for missing this point.  It is easy for me to confuse quantity and quality of time spent with God.  The kalenderlys helps me also remember even a small portion of time spend well with the Lord is time well spent.

This advent season instead of buying into the craziness of our modern holiday let us make room to be still and remember what the Lord has done for us.

Advent is not like a Civil War reenactment

Once again the season of Advent is upon us and with it come a whirlwind of emotions.  I love the season of Advent.  And I especially love how Advent is not like a Civil War reenactment.

There is great power in remembrance.  One of God's most frequent commands throughout scripture is to remember, and we see this in various expressions from piles of stones to Passover dinners.  Even beyond the Lord's direction we understand the power of recall and contemplation.

Advent is a wondrous time of remembering, to take time and be still, and think about the Lord's coming to Earth.  We contemplate the truth of how before Jesus's arrival we all were a people in darkness, but with His coming "the people walking in darkness have seen a great light" (Isa 9:2).  We remember the miracle of Emmanuel, "God with us"; the impossible truth that despite our rebellion and rejection of God He came back for us.  We are not alone.  It is powerful to remind ourselves of this truth.

But the similarities between Advent and a Civil War reenactment end here.  A reenactment has the power to help us remember, to visualize and experience the past, but the events are forever locked in the past.  No matter of contemplation and recollection will ever cause change.

Advent is a season of hope not only in events of the past but also events of the future.  As the world waited in darkness for Jesus's first advent, we now quietly await Jesus's second advent.  We can relate to lyrics such as "O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear" because this too is our story.  Our lives are in exile upon this rock.  Earth is not my home.

We do not reenact or remember the events of two thousand years ago only to recreate the memories or experiences of Christ's advent; we are not merely trying to recapture every year the wonder of events past.  We also contemplate Christ's first coming to give us hope and help prepare us for His second.  Our lives should look different in light of our hope of Advent.  Emmanuel not only came back to save us, but is coming back to bring us home.  The conclusion of Christ's Second Advent is our return to Paradise and God's presence; the restoration of everything we lost at the Fall.  Our hope is in going home.

Are we looking to the future this Advent?  May we contemplate Jesus's first advent as a reminder of the hope we have in His second.