Last night, I had to take Josh to the mall in search of some new clothes and shoes. The mall was packed – wall-to-wall shoppers, people looking sweaty and harried as they tried to navigate the crowds, everybody carrying multiple bags of stuff. As Josh and I sat and munched on our pretzel sticks, I couldn’t help but think of how happy I was to have done some of our shopping online, and to be making the rest of our gifts. This year’s “shopping” has been so much less stressful. And as a result, my focus has been less on the “stuff” of Christmas, and more on the substance of Christmas.
And what is that substance? Amid people bickering over whether or not it’s okay to say Happy Holidays, amid the strains of Christmas music playing in every single store, over the chime of the Salvation Army bells… if you look carefully you’ll find it. Jesus. The arrival of Jesus, the Baby who would grow into a Man that would take the sins of the entire world on his shoulders.
Lately at church we’ve been singing a song called A Baby, A King, Emmanuel, written by Caleb Delamont (listen to that song here and check out Caleb’s blog). Emmanuel… God With Us. At the same time, I’ve been finishing off the Zion Legacy series by Brock & Bodie Thoene – in part, a fictionalized account of some parts of the New Testament pertaining to the later years of Jesus’ life. One of the characters is a shepherd who was present when the angels announced the arrival of Jesus on earth – a man who has looked and waited for his Savior from that day forward and finds him as Jesus is about to be crucified. As I’ve sung that song and read those words… my heart has been drawn to think more of the arrival of Jesus and what that meant for the world. What that meant for me.
All they foretold about you came to be true
Love incarnate come to rescue humanity
Restore our purity
Breaking down the walls between heaven and earth
Christ Jesus come and dwell with us
You brought heaven down
To a manger, to a stable
God in human flesh
Here to save us like you promised
Open our eyes to why you came
A baby, and king, Emmanuel
Show us what it is to have God with us
Pierce through the din of our
Deafening urgencies and selfish emergencies
Break through the wall that surrounds our hearts
Christ Jesus come and rescue us
(A Baby, A King, Emmanuel – words & music by Caleb Delamont)
During the last few weeks I’ve become aware of so many people who are hurting deeply at this time of year. People who are struggling with personal tragedy and really just can’t find joy right now. A customer whose 30-something daughter took her own life a few weeks ago and, in her own words, is finding it really hard to get through the days. People living with private pain that is to deep for words. Christ Jesus, come and rescue us. For we are in deep need of rescue. Our hurt, our pain, our sin… we need rescuing in the worst way possible.
Deafening urgencies… selfish emergencies… will it really kill you to stand in line an extra minute or two for that peppermint mocha? would your attitude change if you thought about the fact that elsewhere in the world there are women, men and children who don’t know where their next grain of rice is coming from, or if they will live another day, and they’ve never even smelled a peppermint mocha. Break through the wall that surrounds our hearts…
Josh and I are going to be baking a Happy Birthday, Jesus cake this coming week for his class party at school. Truth be told, while I’m happy to do it, it feels a little bit trite to me. This is no ordinary birthday – this baby was not merely a baby, and what He grew up to do was nothing short of supernatural and life-changing. Christmas is more than a birthday party! It is a celebration of God With Us, a fulfillment of a promise, and if only we would open our eyes to more than the brightly colored stuff demanding our attention… we would see Him.
Brian French
Ditto on these thoughts, I have been overwhelmed this year thinking about God’s love shown with the coming of Jesus.