Christmas is for Waiting

"Can I open it?" 

(2 minutes later) 

"Now, can I open it?" 

(30 seconds later) 

"I open my gift now?"

Conversations like this have become a regular institution in my household since my wife and I became foster parents to an amazing five year old several months ago. The new experience has taught me a lot. And maybe now, with interactions like the above those lessons are being tailored for Christmas.

Just as my kid doesn't like waiting to open his presents, I don't like the waiting inherent to the Christmas story as well. But Christmas, at the deepest level, is about expectant waiting.

There's the relational arc: Waiting to see friends and family after long separation.

There's the consumerist arc: Waiting for deals and Amazon boxes.

There's the fictional arc: Waiting for a jolly man to commit some reverse B&E to your home.

But, there's also a divine arc of waiting. 

The first half of the Christmas story is about waiting for an arrival. It starts millennia before a manger in Bethlehem when a promise was set forth in Genesis 3 that a Rescuer would one day undo the work of the serpent and heal the enmity between man and God and all creation. Clues about the identity and work of this Rescuer were given throughout the centuries and God's people waiting for this Person to come. For generation after generation after generation, people lived and died looking forward and believing that God would one day send Someone who would undo all that was evil and broken in the world. Finally, this culminated in the arrival of Jesus in an inconspicuous city. He was born to a young girl, fled as a refugee, and raised in a backwater area no one believed to be of any consequence. But this was it, the end of the waiting. The Rescuer had come and he indeed did work rescue.

The second half of the Christmas story, where we find ourselves today, is about waiting for a return. From the point of Jesus' ascension onward, His followers have been waiting for this Rescuer to arrive once again. He promised that though he was leaving that one day he would appear and set all things right. That he would wipe every tear away from our eyes and make an end to all war and death and oppression. He promised that we would see him face to face and be in his presence. His return is to bring with it fulfillment of every good thing, an answer to our every cry of pain, despair, and hurt. Christmas is about remembering the waiting of others and engaging in waiting of our own, waiting for this God to come and live with us.

I don't know about you, but 2017 was hard for me. The dignity of my community and worth of my neighbors was assaulted from the most powerful officials in our nation. On a weekly basis, I held a crying child in the middle of the night to assure him it would be alright (not knowing if I could ever truly protect him from those fears). I saw lives torn apart again and again and again by sin, systems, and choices. I saw friends reach incredible triumphs only to have their whole foundation crumble under their feet. And I had to digest all that into my own psyche and ask, "What is there to hope in?"

So, this Christmas, what are we waiting for? 

The great hymn "O Holy Night" gives us one glimpse. In the third verse the song proclaims, thinking of the coming of this great Rescuer, "And in his name all oppression shall cease." This Christmas, our waiting can be embedded into this lyric. Whatever it is that you are waiting for, the Coming King stands ready to answer. We put our hope and our waiting in him, even if we don't know when it is that he will answer.

We can sing, "And in his name all depression shall cease."

We can sing, "And in his name all chronic pain shall cease."

We can sing, "And in his name all defamation of the Image of God shall cease."

We can sing, "And in his name all sin and consequence shall cease."

At Christmas, we wait. At Christmas, I invite you to fill in the blank. We remind ourselves that millions of our brothers and sisters sat in expectancy for lifetimes and one day saw the fulfillment of the coming Rescuer, so we too can have the strength to put our hope in him.

For we know that he has come, we know that he lives still, and we know that he is with us in our waiting. His second arrival is promised and while we wait we can call upon his name.

Come Lord Jesus.

Just as they had been told

Luke 2:20 ends with the shepherds returning home "glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, for everything was just as they had been told."

The verse specifically refers to the words the shepherds had been told by the angels, but beyond that Christmas points us millennia of "what we have been told" proving true. For thousands of years humankind looked forward to a promise of a Messiah who would set all things right. For thousands of years since humankind has looked back and seen these promises fulfilled while looking forward to their coming in totality in a Second Advent.

The promises are many.

Daniel 7:13-14 (written 575 years before Christ's birth)

I saw what looked like    a son of mancoming with the clouds of heaven,and he was presented    to the Eternal God. He was crowned king    and given power and glory,so that all peopleof every nation and race    would serve him.He will rule forever,and his kingdom is eternal,    never to be destroyed.

Micah 5:2-4 (written 750 years before Christ's birth)

But you Bethlehem, though you are small among the towns of Judah,Out of you will come the one who will be ruler over Israel.His greatness will reach the ends of the earth.
And he will be their peace.

Isaiah 7:4 and 9:6 (written 680 years before Christ's birth)

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.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.

These are just some of the written promises. And beyond these we have the promises written on the human heart. The longing for a world where things are different. The concept of justice and the idea that "this is not as it ought to be" (and with it, the hope that someday it will change).

As we look back and as we look forward, the promise remains. All these things will be just as we have been told.

Praise and glorify Him for his promises: past, present, future.

Name some. Thank Him for them. Appropriate them by faith because they are already true if you are in Christ. You don't make them true. You don't ask him to come and help, His promises are fulfilled even now! Praise and glorify!

Day Twelve: The Point

Day Eleven: Came to Worship

There's a recurring theme in every element of the Christmas story.

Mary hears her news, she worships.

The Magi come from afar, they worship.

A group of shepherds hear about this baby who is the Messiah, they worship.

An old man named Simeon sees the baby Jesus in the temple, he worships.

An even older woman named Anna, who spends her time worshiping, also encounters the baby Jesus in the temple, she worships.

All throughout the story. The old and the young. The local and the distant. Worship.

It should be no different today.

We are called to come and behold Him and worship. Not to worship in a building or to worship on our schedule or worship because it's a holiday.

But to worship as those who are astounded. As those who have seen and acknowledge that He is greater and because of that, He is worthy of all our praise from all our lives. True worship is seen when there is nothing we would hold back from Him.

And when we've seen Jesus for who He truly is, this isn't a task. It's barely even a command. It's an invitation.

He's invited us to worship Him with our whole lives.  To live for Him.  To love Him.  To belong to His eternal Kingdom.

This isn't a task, it's a treasure.

Let's worship.

Day Ten: The Name

"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus." Luke 1:31

The name Jesus is our English rendering of a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Joshua, which is a rendering of the phrase "Yahweh is salvation."

There could be no better name for God incarnate, entering our world to bring total and sufficient rescue from sin, death, and their effects than "Yahweh is salvation!"

Immediately, this name makes me think of a verse from a story I've written about at length here. Jonah 2:9 is a verse I've heard referred to as the thesis statement of the Bible, it reads, "Salvation comes from Yahweh."

And at Christmas, and in the name Jesus, we celebrate that Yahweh, who is salvation, came here, to rescue, to redeem, and to restore.

Day Nine: Magi!

I'd never heard the word "Magi" until about 2006. That was when I was at the Dollar Tree and wanted to buy a Christmas decoration for our college apartment. However, I was too cheap to buy a full Nativity set, so I just bought a single Wise Man. When I got home and set the One King of Orient up on our coffee table, my roommates asked where the Magi came from. I assumed they were talking about some type of ethnic food in the fridge.

Then I learned the word Magi.

Turns out it is a pretty complicated word.  Its Wikipedia article mentions six different languages and Zoroastrianism.  And Christians from Ethiopia, Armenia, China, Persia, India, Arabia, and (geographically challenged one's from) Great Britain have all claimed that at least one of these Wise Men hailed from their countries.

To all this, I say: Yes.

All this, the languages, the claims, makes the point clearer. These men came from somewhere, somewhere very far from Bethlehem, to worship. They may or may not have been but Jews, but their mere journey and belief in Jesus as the Christ reveals a major element of God's character.

He loves people. He loves people all over the world. He loves them so much that one of his conditions for that Second Advent is that there will be souls from every single people group with him for eternity.

It only makes sense that at his first arrival party he'd want to invite some folks from all over. Sure, Arabia, Armenia, Ethiopia, China, even the Celts who definitely don't live remotely East of Bethlehem, "Come on over!"

He's not the God of just one people.  He doesn't belong to, prefer, or get enamored by any human culture.  He's the God of all people.

Welcome Magi, you can come from as many countries as you want, because one day that is how we all will worship.

"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

Day Eight: The Shepherd King

Matthew 2:6 (from Micah 5:2)

"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."

This verse is often used for its prophecy tying the Messiah to Bethlehem, but the second half is even better. The prophecy juxtaposes a ruler and a shepherd.  This is an unlikely combination.

First, shepherds. These were people who hung out with sheep all day. They were not part of the elite. They were in the countyside. To say the least, they were disconnected with the cultural goings-on and the latest religious trends. And they probably smelled like sheep too.

Second, rulers. Since most of us don't live in a Ancient Near Eastern monarchy this is lost on us.  In fact, our country prizes the fact that anyone could rise to become a ruler/leader. It is ingrained in our national ethos. Not so for that society.

In that time, to be King, you had to be 1. Male (there goes 50% of the population) and 2. Offspring of the King (and you best be the eldest to have a real shot).

So what does this unlikely Shepherd-King combination signify.

1. God doesn't work like us. His ways are higher. He ways are better. He is both in control of everything in the entire Universe and is all good. I often think he should work on my terms, but the fact he doesn't give me what I want is part of his goodness. Oh, that we would remember his sovereignty and goodness the next time our plans fall apart.
2. Jesus is the true and better David. This shepherd-to-King promotion was not unprecedented, nor was the hometown of Bethlehem. Both of those were first done by David, but Jesus is going to be our new David. He won't conquer the Goliath of Philistia, but he will conquer the Goliath of sin and death, forever expunging and destroying them both.
3. We are sheep. This one hurts a little because sheep are the stupidest animals on earth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXosBxCYXAk). But, it fits us. We are constantly wandering away. We don't know what's best for us. We are slow to trust. And our attempts to fix ourselves only make us worse. Yet, if we are the sheep and Jesus is the shepherd, we are going to be alright. Because he's the good shepherd. He's the good shepherd who willingly lays down his life for his sheep.

Jesus is your true Shepherd King, at Christmas we see his arrival to rule and guide, to lead you to ultimate safety, not for your earthly life, but for your eternal destiny and standing.

Day Seven: Joseph

Talk about a tough situation.

Your fiance is mysteriously pregnant.  You're tasked to be step-father to the Divine.  Angels are showing up in your dreams.  You become a refugee.

Challenging.

As I write this, I want to praise the faithfulness of Joseph.  His moral uprightness.  His obedience.

And while these descriptions seem apt, in reality, the Bible gives very little additional information about Joseph.

He's a relative of David.  He was upright.  He was a carpenter/stonemason.

And that's about it.

I honestly intended to write about Joseph, but I don't have much to work with.

Which makes sense, I guess.  Because this isn't a story about Joseph.  This isn't a story about his ethical victory or moral stamina.

Just like this moment in 2012 isn't about Marc Nettleton.  It isn't a story about his ministry fruitfulness, his essential decisions, or his current mindset.

It is a greater story.  A story in which Joseph becomes smaller and smaller and smaller, yet as he shrinks, he somehow becomes more significant.  As his character, identity, and accomplishments diminish, the more clearly his central life event stands out: He was with Jesus.

To a level few ever would, Joseph experienced the presence of Jesus.

In my Bible, Joseph is quite anonymous, but he watched Jesus grow and walk and talk and live.  He knew him distinctly, specifically, and continuously.  This is of most importance.

Oh, that I would diminish, that I would fade to insignificance, that my publicity would end, so that he might be greater.

Day Six: Immanuel

The first chapter of Matthew quotes the seventh chapter of Isaiah declaring that a child will be born of a virgin and will be called "Immanuel", which means "God with us".

And while a prophecy that predates the event by 700 years is awesome and could be several topics on its own, here I want to focus on the implications of the fact that God truly came to be with us.

God.  With us.

In this word, we see that God did not simply come to be present with us (as an omnipresent being he already had that covered), but that he came to be with us and to be like us.  He came incarnate. He came as a human.

And further, in his incarnation, Jesus did not come as a super-man.  He did not come wielding power, by scepter or brute force.

The Bible tells us Jesus came in human weakness.  He came and experienced life, struggle, and temptation just like every other human being who has ever lived.  In fact, because he always turned from temptation he experienced it to a greater degree than any other human.

In his Immanuel incarnation, Christ came in weakness.  This means he understands us.  Not just in an omniscient, omnipotent way, but he understands us at a heart level, at an experiential level, at an emotional level, at a physical level.

He had a real family . . . and it probably had dysfunction.

He had a real childhood . . . and it taught him things (don't ask me to explain how that worked).

He had real choices . . . and always chose the Father's will.

He had real friends . . . and they betrayed him.

He had real skin and bones . . . and they were pierced and stretched in their joints on a cross.

And because Jesus was real, we're free to come to him with our own reality.  In fact, we are invited to approach God's throne with confidence! (Hebrews 4:16)  The very same throne that Isaiah came before and declared "Woe is me!" while calling down curses on himself (Isaiah 6).  So complete is his salvation and so empathizing is our Messiah that a once unapproachable God can be stood before with confidence.

Jesus is our true elder brother.  Fully human.  Fully divine.  He is God with us.

Day Five: A Little Girl

There are many stunning elements to the Christmas narrative, but those of us who are Protestants really like to skim over one of them.  We seem to very afraid of Mary.

Which strikes me as interesting as I am continually astounded at this likely 13-year-old girl's lack of fear (after the initial, standard angel-fright).

Mary gets what probably qualifies as the most shocking message ever delivered when she is told the following facts in succession:

1. "God highly favors you."
2. "The Lord is with you."
3. "You will give birth to a son."
4. "He will be called the Son of the Most High."
5. "He will be a King . . . and reign forever."
6. "Yes, I know you're a virgin."

Perhaps, you've been surprised by something in your life, but none of us can top Mary.

Yet look two of the recorded responses we have from Mary. She doesn't say, "Impossible!" nor does she say, "I am the greatest, check me out!"  Here's what she says:

"I am the Lord's servant.  May it be as you have said."

 and

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant"

 She's not arrogant or doubtful, instead she declares herself to be a servant and gives God the glory.

Oh, that we would glorify Him as our Master and Lord, humbly declaring His excellencies while submitting our wills to His Greater, Better will for His Eternal Glory.

Day Four: Advent Part 2

The word Advent simply means arrival.

On Christmas Day we celebrate God's arrival on the Earth in the incarnate body of a baby.  But, this is just the First Advent.  We are also called on to celebrate and look ahead to the Second Advent at this time of year.

The First Advent was Jesus the Christ coming to provide the work of salvation by living the perfect life we should have lived and dying the death that we should have died.  But, in the Second Advent is Jesus arriving to set all things right.

When Jesus preached he freely admitted he was the King and he was bringing the Kingdom.  And these claims were (and are) legitimate, but the world we see today is the Kingdom unrealized.

What we will see on the Second Advent is the Kingdom realized.  When Jesus arrives to rule and reign "in His name all oppression shall cease".  When he arrives the renewal will be so complete that even sorrows will disappear and no more will "thorns infest the ground".

Christmas isn't just about looking back to what Jesus did when he arrived, but, if you are in Christ, Christmas is about looking forward expectantly to when he will arrive again.

Day Three: Advent

For centuries the church has referred to the weeks leading up to Christmas Day as Advent, but most of us don't have a deep knowledge of Middle English-Medieval Latin based words.  For shame.  What did we even learn in school?

But, the word Advent (or advent) comes from the Latin for "arrival."  As this is just what Christmas is, it is about the arrival.

The most important arrival in human history.

The most important arrival in universal history.

What one theologian once called "the vertical moment".  The point where humanity's horizontal historical timeline was interrupted from above.  When a vertical arrival, God, entered into human flesh and entered into time.

This is the arrival.  This is the Advent.

Day Two: Humble He Came

We are astounded when a millionaire visits a poor neighborhood.  The God who created the earth became a fragile infant and indwelled a broken world.  Not just that, but he came not to be crowned or worshipped, but to be despised and killed.

As the Message puts it:

When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process.  He didn't claim special privileges  Instead he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death--and the worst kind of death at that--a crucifixion.

The Christmas story is one about an unfathomable incarnation.  Jesus left the glory of heaven so that he could get us back.

Hallelujah, King Jesus.

12 Days of Christmas: The Coming King

As Christmas approaches, I have a small goal.  I want to use this space to post one short reflection each day until Christmas in the hopes that it will draw your heart and my heart to a greater appreciation of the different aspects, characters, and elements of the Christmas story.  So here we go.

Day One: The Coming King

Jesus owns the world.  He owned it before there was such a thing as time.  He owned it when the Mesopotamian civilizations flourished.  He owned it when they fell.  He owned the world even when he came into that world as a baby.

Even as a baby. In a barnyard.  Wrapped in clothes.  Being held by a young girl.  He was King.

It all belonged to Him.

King Jesus.

He still is King.  The undisputed, unparalleled Sovereign of the Universe.

The King has come.  Let's celebrate his arrival.