As my final installment for an Awesome Advent this year, I borrowed from my Advent 4 and Advent 5 writing three years ago. Let’s start with the lesson of Advent week 4: charity.
Learning charity
- We should not give if we cannot release what we give.
- If the giving will leave us unfulfilled, or create a spiritual/emotional hole, we need to be receivers rather than givers. WE need something.
- Spiritual or emotional holes, also known as personal baggage, will create problems.
- If we are missing something in our hearts, it will be refilled with something.
- When the thing that fills us is negative, we will tend to isolate ourselves, drive people away, and wallow in our self-pity.
- We need to identify the bad feelings and get rid of them.
- We should fill our hearts with what God has to give, and the pain and exhaustion of the bad blood will be gone.
There is goodwill in the story of Jesus’ birth. What would have happened if our Awesome God (the giver) or Mary/Joseph (the receivers) had rejected the gift, or if they had decided to misuse it? God knows us so well, there was no chance of that happening.
Understanding and trust are crucial for the giver. Trusting and correctly accepting a gift is key for the receiver. We might not understand the gift for years, but it will fulfill our need.
the birth of Jesus
Advent week 5 celebrates the birth of Jesus. The recommended passage for week 5 is Luke 2:1-20. There are practical lessons that are easy to overlook in this story.- The prophecy of the Savior coming from Bethlehem was known. Joseph did not have to strive to intentionally fulfill a prophecy on his own. It was a God thing. Joseph was under a government requirement to go to Bethlehem. His very pregnant bride-to-be did not have to go with him, but she did. And the baby was born.
- The shepherds who saw the angels were terrified at first. Quietly doing their job, tending sheep, and they are confronted with this unique, awesome experience. Why were they the ones to hear this announcement? Why not tell a group of traveling salesmen who were already on the way to Bethlehem? Nothing made the shepherds special, and I think that is the point. They were ordinary and believable witnesses who could take the time to check out the baby Jesus. There are countless days when all of us are on a mission. Perhaps we do not take time to respond to special announcements. In the context of a quiet meadow when we are awakened from our reverie, we are apt to pay attention.
- In Luke 2:13 and 14, the angels sang a song. The melody is long forgotten, but the words ring: 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
- ‘Glory to God’ seems descriptive enough, but the angels added ‘in the highest heaven’. The most glorified part of creation who testify about God, recognize they are far below the greatness of God. It is a reminder that God is much greater than we are.
- ‘…on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Not everyone will have the peace of knowing Jesus. It does not say peace to all men’. We need to seek God’s favor, and accept Christ in order to know His awesome peace.
After the shepherds had visited and met baby Jesus, the text says “17 … they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them”.
Imagine being a first-hand witness to the shepherd’s story. Perhaps we would be astonished too — and a little jealous. The news is great. The prospect of such a thing happening is beyond words. Even a shy, introverted person would want to share the story. I hope and pray, for myself and my readers, that God will bless you at Christmas, and in the coming year.
