“It was not supposed to be like this.” This Advent season, as I reflect once again on the Christmas story, I parked myself on Mary’s and Joseph’s story. It is easy for me to miss the reality of what Mary and Joseph must’ve experienced, because I know the end of the story. But they did not, they had to live through it. For them, it was supposed to be a time of great joy and hope, expectation and planning for a new life together as husband and wife. Scripture tells us that Mary was favored by God and that Joseph was a righteous man. They were doing what they were supposed to be doing, yet suddenly their lives get turned upside down. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this” must have been the theme occupying their minds. What to do?
First, God’s Word brought comfort to them: “Do not be afraid” (or “Fear not”). In their confusion, Mary and Joseph needed this reassurance from the angels. But God’s Word not only brought comfort, it brought correction and instruction. As a matter of fact, the first instruction given to Joseph (Matt. 1:20) was to do the exact opposite of what he wanted to do: to divorce Mary quietly. Their response in obedience to God’s word for them became the source of blessing and promise to them. Mary’s response, “May Your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:39) was Joseph’s response as well. Three times Joseph receives a “word” from the Lord and, each time, he responds in obedience. As result, God’s promises were fulfilled in and through them (Matt. 1:22-24; 2:13-15, 19-23). This year, as you reflect on the birth of Jesus and His love for us, perhaps you find some “It was not supposed to be like this” areas of life, whether personal, professional or in your service and ministry to the Lord. You are as confused and frustrated as Mary and Joseph were. In what areas of your life do you need to hear God’s word of comfort say to you, “Do not be afraid”? Areas in your life where trust in God helps manage your fear? Secondly, where do you need to respond in obedience to God’s word of correction and instruction? Obedience led to fulfilled promises for Mary and Joseph, and it will be the same for us. I wonder how many promises and blessings remain unfulfilled for us because of our lack of obedience? Mary’s and Joseph’s obedience was not only a source of hope for them, but through them, God’s hope was ushered into the world. This Christmas, it is my prayer, that you will find comfort and correction in God’s word for you. And that as you follow their example, you will find renewed, life giving hope in your life. And you will see that same hope being ushered into the world through you. For His glory, Amen! Lastly, in honor of Christ’s birth, would you consider giving a special Christmas offering? You may consider giving to Olive Crest, an organization working with foster children (put “Christmas Offering” in the memo), or any cause near and dear to your heart. You can also consider giving a special Christmas gift to our church as we once again face a deficit. Thank you for your faithful and generous giving. May you have a blessed and merry Christmas as we usher Jesus into our lives, our families and our church in a new and fresh way this year. May Christ and His hope be born again into each of you this Christmas season. “Do not be afraid,” You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word. (Psalm 119:114)
When I was a boy, I loved playing hide and go seek. I loved looking for good hiding places. I tried to look for a place where not only I would be completely hidden, but also allowed me to spy on my friends as we played the game. I still remember such moments with joy, decades later. In Psalm 119:114, the psalm writer uses the metaphor of a hiding place in reference to God: “You are my hiding place and my shield.” The Hebrew word translated as “hiding place” is seter, which can be translated as “cover, hiding place, or secret place.” A seter is a place where you can be safe and secure, hidden from all that might hurt you, including things like bad weather or enemies. For example, in 1 Samuel 19:2 Jonathan says to David, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding [seter] and stay there.” Because God is the psalm writer’s hiding place, he prays, “I hope in Your word.” He might have said, “I hope in You,” but wanted in this instance to emphasize the word of God as something in which he hopes. God’s word in this phrase is not exactly the same as the Bible. Rather, it is all that God has spoken, all that God has revealed to Israel. In particular, the psalm writer would place his hope in the promises of God, promises of protection, deliverance, salvation, prosperity, and peace. In the season of Advent, Christians renew our hope in God. We focus especially on hope related to the future, when Christ comes again and God restores and renews all things. This hope comes to us through God’s Word, now preserved for us in the Bible, what we often call the Word of God. Take Ephesians 1:8-10, for example. Here we learn that God has made known to us the plan “to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment” (Eph. 1:10). What is God’s plan? It is “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” (Eph. 1:10). God will restore the brokenness of all things that resulted from the entrance of sin into the world. God will make all things right through Christ, filling the world with endless peace, upholding all things with justice (see Isa. 9:7). In a world that is very broken, the promise of God to heal and to restore gives us hope. So, like the psalmist, we hope in God’s word. The core of Advent hope is something all Christians share in common. We remember how Israel hoped for the Messiah. We ourselves hope for His second coming and all that it will entail. In addition to this Advent core, we also have personal, individual hope in God. We wait upon God to respond to our needs and concerns. We wait upon God to minister to our family and friends. Our distinctive hopes are often inspired by God’s word in Scripture, especially the promises to which we cling faithfully. What do you hope for God to do in your life? In the lives of your family and friends? In our church? How do you hope in God’s word? Thank You, Lord, for the encouragement of Advent to put our hope in You and to shape our hope in light of Your Word. Amen. In years gone by, young women had a piece of furniture “hope chest.” The chest was usually constructed of ornate, dark wood, with a large space inside lined with cedar and filled with antique linens. A young girl would fill her hope chest with items she would need if she got married. The hope chest was also a sign of hope that, one day, its owner would find true love: hoping to fall in love and get married to a good man.
Psalm 33 makes a strong connection between hope and love, a love that is not the romantic love of a bride and a groom. Rather, it is the “steadfast love” of God for God’s people. The phrase “steadfast love” offers one possible rendering of the Hebrew word chesed, which has a variety of English translations, including “kindness, lovingkindness, unfailing love, or mercy.” The OT consistently emphasizes God’s faithful, never-ending love for the people in covenant relationship with God. For His people, God’s love is unwavering. It is steadfast. Psalm 33 refers to “those whose hope is in [God’s] unfailing love” (v. 18). When we need God’s help, we put our hope in the truth of God’s love for us. We remember how God has loved us in the past and believe with confidence that God will love us in the future. When we put our hope in God’s love, God’s “eye is upon us.” This suggests, not only that God is paying attention to us, but also that God will “deliver [us] from death” (v. 19). Therefore, the psalm writer proclaims, “We wait in hope for the LORD.” Why? Because God “is our help and our shield” (v. 20). In the past we experienced God’s chesed when God helped us and protected us from danger. Therefore, the psalmist continues, “Our hearts rejoice in Him, because we trust in His holy Name” (v. 21). As we wait upon God, we are glad. This affirmation reiterates what is stated on Psalm 146:5: “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob; whose hope is in the LORD their God.” (146:5). The final verse of Psalm 33 is a prayer of request: “May Your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in You.” Our hope is oriented to the future. We long for that which we do not yet possess. Therefore, we must wait. Throughout all of Scripture, including Psalms, hoping and waiting are consistently interwoven. In our waiting, we cry out with the psalm writer, “Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us.” We might make explicit what is implicit in this request, “Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us now.” Even though we must wait with hope for the fullness of God’s future kingdom, with its healing, justice, and peace, we can experience God’s faithful love right now. When we do, our hope is strengthened and our waiting is filled with gladness. The hope chest was a sign of hope that one day she would know the love of a man with whom she would spend her life. Our hope differs from this because we do not have to hope that someday we might know God’s love for us. That love is available right now. The more we experience God’s love in the present, the more we will have strong hope for all that comes in God’s future. Yes, on that day we will know God’s love even more profoundly. But we don’t have to wait for the assurance of God’s love. It comes now, revealed through Christ, energized by the Holy Spirit, augmented in Christian community, and shared as we serve others. Thus, the Advent connection between hope and love is better than a hope chest. Advent is a time for us, not only to wait and hope, but also to experience in a fresh way God’s love for us, a love that strengthens our hope. In what ways have you experienced God’s love for you? For what are you hoping? What helps you to hang onto hope even when life is hard? Let Your steadfast love be upon me, O Lord, in this season of Advent. As I experience Your love for me, renew and refresh my hope in You. Psalm 39:6-7
Advent Greetings to you! As you may well know, we are in the Christian season of Advent, a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Savior at Christmas. For the first half of my life, Advent meant little to me. I may have heard the word at church and used it in reference to a fancy paper calendar counting down the days until Christmas. I had no idea that Advent was a season of the Christian Year. Of course, I didn’t realize there was such a thing as the Christian Year, either. When I became a pastor, I began learning about Advent and ways it could enrich both our corporate worship and our relationship with God. I also discovered that Advent helped me solve one of the perplexing riddles of Christmastime, “The Riddle of Bustling Christmas.” The riddle goes something like this. As Christmas approaches, it would be good for me to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, to prepare my heart to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Savior. But the weeks before Christmas are filled with activities: decorating, shopping, wrapping, partying, traveling, planning, cooking, eating, and, if you’re a pastor, being super busy at church. It’s hard to find time to reflect on the true meaning of the season when the season is so filled with activities . . . activities I love, by the way. So, how in the world can I get my heart ready for welcoming Jesus at Christmas when in Christmastime I am bustling about rather than finding time for reflection and prayer? Early in my life, I would try to make my pre-Christmas experience more “spiritual.” But The Riddle of Bustling Christmas seemed to have no solution. Then, by God’s grace through some friends in seminary, I began to learn about Advent. Rather than trying to cut back on pre-Christmas festivities and force myself to be more “spiritual,” I started to infuse the weeks before Christmas with Advent-themed Scripture readings, reflections, music, colors, worship, traditions, and prayers. I went from ignorance of Advent to a love of Advent. In fact, I became an “Adventophile,” which means “Lover of Advent” (the term was coined by a Fuller professor). In preparing for Advent and Christmas, I found a passage in the Psalms that speaks to me about the challenges and opportunities of this time of year. Psalm 39:6-7 says in the Common English Bible translation, “Yes, people wander around like shadows; yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly; they don’t even know who will get the wealth they’ve amassed. So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for? My hope is set on You.” Christmastime can be a time filled with “hustle and bustle.” Not all of it is pointless, I must say. But the psalmist’s example invites us to ask in prayer, “So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for? My hope is set on You.” Here are two of Advent’s major themes: waiting and hope. Rather than focusing on the bustling of others, rather than trying to out-bustle them, rather than fretting over their accumulation of wealth, the psalm writer opens his heart to God. “What should I be waiting for?” he asks. Not wealth or stuff or status or power. Rather, he should be waiting for the Lord because that’s where he has set his hope. As we move into the holiday season, we all have reason to bustle at times. How can we infuse even our busy times with Advent reality? But, in this season of Advent, let me encourage you to ask yourself the psalm writer’s question: “So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?” By God’s grace, may you answer that question truthfully in this way: “I am waiting for You, Lord. My hope is set on You!” Gracious God, stir up our hope as we renew our waiting for You. |
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