Darkness Interrupted

We all know it probably didn’t happen in December. The manger scenes we display on our tables or in our yards may not be an exact representation of the real thing. Our Christmas is more culture than conviction. While we’re shopping, baking, decorating, and even while we’re singing out with joy, we do well to keep in mind the awesome peculiarity of God’s gift. At the church I attend, we dedicate each Sunday night in December to singing about the great event that took place and changed the world. Our first evening service of the month brought a new song, one written and sung by a young church member.

The words of the song sank deep and reminded me that God didn’t have to send us a baby in a manger. That baby didn’t have to give up residency in Heaven and lay down in the dirt where animals slept. He could have stayed where He was and done one of two things—revealed to us in a loud voice that we must follow Him, or else just wiped us out.

But neither of those plans would have suited Him. He made us in His image, and so we can’t be obliterated—not really. He’s eternal, so we’re eternal. And using His outside voice isn’t exactly in His nature either. At least not when it comes to redeeming His children.

So did He have to come as a baby and live like a peasant and die like a criminal? We can’t answer that question. It’s what He did. He did it for us. He did it for Himself. But he could have just let it ride. We—the whole human race—would have burned ourselves out eventually and existed eternally apart from Him. That’s what would have happened if He didn’t do what He did.

The angels made an announcement that night—whenever it was.  “Good tidings of great joy.” And then a light came on. Maybe the whole sky lit up. Maybe the light burned in the hearts of those who heard the angels’ cry. Maybe it was just a low glow in the souls of all mankind. A spark to ignite future generations. A glimmer to remind creation that redemption had come at last. Whatever it was, our dark world got interrupted by His glory. Halleluiah. 

He could have left the light off—said, “Nobody’s home. Not for you, lost world.” But He didn’t.

The chorus from that new song—one I hope we hear again in our church next Christmas:

You could have stayed on high,

But you came into our night.

Came to give us light. Came to give us light. 

                                       ( written and sung by Beka Burns)

Christmas-2020-Prayer

 

Father, it’s Christmas again. As always, it will visit us and then fade quickly away. Only this year it arrives more welcome. Warm and inviting. Soothing as a gold and magenta sunset that follows a day of bitter rain. Familiar as home after a dreadful trek in an untried land. After a year proving fierce and unmanageable, along comes Christmas to fill us with something right. Not that Christmas has ever been unwelcome. Nor has it ever, nor is it now, the answer to every problem or the correction to any sway of humanity. It’s a day marked by believers to remember the Gift, but also borrowed by many for the sake of tradition, or commerce, or entertainment. Now this year, we approach the day with relief, and perhaps a longing sadness. For this Christmas is not quite the same. The borrowed Christmas won’t meet our deepest hope. It’s only the true Christmas—the one joyfully celebrating the Gift—that brings deliverance.

No, the day will not end our anguish, though for a little while we may forget. But what Christmas represents is, indeed, the answer to every problem and the correction to all that is wrong in this fleeting world. And so, dear Lord, remind us of who you are and what you did for us when you sent the Gift. The baby, God with us. The Savior. The Redeemer. The One born into our world. Born to die. To live again. To return again, set things right, and rule forever. This Christmas, Lord, remind us.

Will you always be with us? Of course, you will.

   The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8

Will you care for us? Of course, you will.

   Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Will you provide? Of course, you will.

   For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You! Psalm 84:11-12

Will you keep your promises? Of course, you will.

   For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20

Will you fulfill every word you have spoken? Of course, you will.

…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

Will you end all suffering, heal every ailment, wipe away every tear? Of course, you will.

    He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.     Revelation 21:4

Will you dispel the darkness? Of course, you will.

    The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:12

Will you come again just as you said? Of course, you will.

    And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:3

With illness, death, and unrest all around us and inside us, we pray, Father in Heaven, for a deeper understanding of Christmas. Not the day, the gathering, the feasting, not even the comfort of the familiar. For next year, or the next, all may fade to relics of a past culture. But the Gift will not be dismissed. Not by rulers and principalities, not by those who borrow the day for their own advantage, not by the darkness. For the darkness cannot hide the Light. For the Light of the world has come. And the coming of the baby only precedes the coming of the King.

 

Baby Jesus, deliver us, for we face a dreadful end.

Righteous Jesus, the sacrifice for each soul chained to the grave.

Christmas Jesus, unlikely cure the Father chose to send.

Abide with us, abide with us, our comforter and friend.

Eternal King who came to us a baby born to save.

 

Baby Jesus, remember us when you sit upon your throne.

Holy Jesus, you knew our ways and our crushing, fatal sting.

Christmas Jesus, a picture of our God in flesh and bone,

Remember us, remember us, and leave us not alone.

Redemption sings and darkness flees before our coming King.

 

In the name of the baby, amen. In the name of the King, amen and amen.

The Christmas Gospel

Over the last few years I’ve written several blogs posts about the gospel. One might wonder how or why a writer would feel the need to address the subject again and again. And, well, again. It’s Christmas and I want to write about the gospel. This is my twelfth gospel post, and Christmas is the right time for it. I’ve had enough of shopping. Wrapping. Baking. Happy musical programs. Fun nativity hayrides. Enough Ho-ho-ho. Enough jingling of the bells hanging on my office doorknob. Enough eating a peppermint nougat with a Christmas tree in the center every time I walk by the candy dish. Enough already.

The one thing I will never get enough of is the gift. Not the one under the tree. By this time next year, I will have likely forgotten what I got for Christmas this year. The gift I won’t forget is the one God sent down from Heaven. If it weren’t for the arrival of the perfect Son of God, there would be no gospel. The event wasn’t so unusual. The birth of Jesus was like that of every other baby, except He wasn’t born on a clean bed in a warm room, but in a manger—a cave where animals were kept. It was His conception that was out of the ordinary, not his birth. The birth was messy. The little Lord Jesus probably did cry—he was a human baby as much as he was the God of the Universe. What a sweet mystery. An ordinary coming of an extraordinary baby into the world. It was indeed a night for the miraculous.

A visitation occurred that night in the fields nearby. Some shepherds met up with the Heavenly Hosts. Perhaps the shepherds guarded the sheep that were to be sacrificed in the temple. Of course, those men were not supposed to leave the sheep, but when angels sing of God’s glory and tell you to go look at a baby who, by the way, is the Messiah, well, you do it. In awe and wonder, they turned from the old sacrifice and set out to meet the new, the final sacrificial Lamb. Did they realize God was changing the course of history? Ending the curse of sin and death? Inviting the sons and daughters of the lost world to come home to the Father?

Without the birth, there would be no death. No resurrection. No redemption for me and my fellow broken human beings. No sacrifice great enough to cover us. Whatever gift I find wrapped under the tree, it can’t bring the joy, the awe, or the everlasting promise of the Gift that came to hang on a cross.

So, this holiday season I will sing of the promise. I will meditate on the Gift. And I will write, again, about the gospel. It’s all I want for Christmas. And while I remember the newborn babe, I will envision the soon-coming King of Kings. 

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6,7

If you want to read my other gospel blog posts, here’s the list. Just click on the titles. Read one every once in a while to remind you of the Gift.

The Actual Gospel   

The Wavering Severity of the Gospel

The Command of the Gospel

The Minimalist Gospel

The Lavish Gospel 

The Intolerant Gospel  

The Imminent Gospel

The Selfless Gospel

The Far-Reaching Gospel

The Everlasting Gospel 

The Quantifiable Gospel