1 QUOTE

“The nativity (the occasion of a person’s birth) of Jesus, is not just a historical event, but the wondrous picture of fulfilled expectations and realized hope.”

- Pastor Charles Simeon (September 24, 1759 - November 13, 1836)

1 NOTE

Happy Advent! For those of you who are new to the faith, Advent is the Latin word for arrival. The Advent season is the four Sundays before Christmas morning. In Advent, we celebrate the first arrival of God into his own creation. Spoiler Alert: There will be a second Advent. Jesus of Nazareth will arrive again, this time to end world history and inaugurate the never-ending reign of God’s Kingdom on earth.

Luke introduces his Christmas story around four songs. Mary, the idealistic teenager is visited by an angel and told she has been chosen to carry and raise God become flesh. She sings of God’s mercy to lift the low and his might to bring down the rulers (Luke 1:46-55). Zechariah is a faithful priest who never had children. He is visited by an angel and told he has also been chosen. Through his son (thought he and his wife are quite old) God will fulfill his plans for Israel which started with Elijah the Prophet. He sings of God remembering his promises, even long after he and his wife stopped praying for them (Luke 1:68-79). The shepherds, outcast by mainstream and religious society, are given a private concert by the angels (Luke 2:13-14). They quickly run to everyone they know to tell them God has send the True Caesar, born not in the royal palace, but among animals in a barn. Simeon, the faithful lay leader, heard a promise from the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Christ. That blessed morning at Jesus’ dedication, he saw with his own eyes the One every prophet spoke about and longed to see. God chose Simeon to see the Christ. His song (Luke 2:29-32) is where we get the phrase, “Now I can die in peace.”

The diversity of the worshipers is amazing. There is an invisible string connecting the teen, a priest, shepherds, and elderly prayer warrior. They each experience a truth about God that makes them drop to their knees and burst out in song: God’s BIG Kingdom plans are fulfilled in and through their LITTLE lives. As a pastor, I see people almost begrudgingly submit to God. They think if they go hard after God they have exhausted joy in their lives. But the exact opposite is true! God’s global plans are accomplished as he answers our personal prayers. Why do we sing the Songs of Christmas? Because the big gospel plans of God, fill our little lives with joy.

Merry Christmas!

1 QUESTION

What song of Christmas has been your favorite this Advent?

Until Next Tuesday,

John