O Come Emmanuel
‘Tis the week before Christmas … and we’re done! Both Don’s and my families celebrated together a week ago, due to travel schedules and availability of various family members. And yet, we’re far from finished. Advent is “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.” This, especially the four weeks preceding Christmas, is a season of anticipation.
Jesus-followers rejoice in the celebration of the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, the Prince of Peace. As we remember His first coming to earth, we rejoice that He is with us today. He is with and in His followers, guiding, directing, giving us hope–hope which we can then share with others who are hurting in a variety of ways.
The immediacy of television, social media, and the internet keep us constantly battered–earthquakes here, ongoing bombing and multiple orphaned children in Aleppo, car bombs in Istanbul. Not only do we hear news real-time; its immediacy makes us feel that we are involved in what is happening around the world. This feeling of intimacy with events is not real, but it does arouse fear in us. What’s next? When will another terrorist attack occur? Where will it all end?
Oh, we need a Savior. Even with our Deliverer, we sometimes despair. The constant influx of negative news wears on our spirits. We can’t hide from it. Where today we have instant replays one after another, Jesus and His disciples walked from Jerusalem to Bethany, or Cana, or the Jordan River–walks that could take from a few hours to a couple of days. During those walks Jesus taught them along the way. And they could process the events of their day, which were also exceeding frightful.
I feel that in the busyness of American lives (some of our over-scheduling self-inflicted, no doubt) we have lost much of that time and opportunity to process. Instead, we move from crisis to crisis, bad news to more bad news.
But our Messiah, our Savior, has come!
“Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.”
* Lyrics by Chris Tomlin
I often feel the need to be released from my fears and sins, to find rest in my God. So I will never be ‘done’ with Christmas. How about you?