Tag: advent
t’s always alarming to me how when someone important passes away, the sun still rises, the coffee still brews, the the laws of physics hold steady and the world moves on even without our loved one in it. We have gone still in grief and shock but everything and everyone around us marches forward as though their life meant so very little in the grand scheme of things.
I have long viewed Herod as an ugly exaggeration of our worst selves: egocentric, paranoid, destructive – an unchecked narcissist at full steam. But today I noted how Herod struggled with the same surrender we all battle. When Jesus is born into our lives, the right response is abdication of our throne. Anything less is a coup and counterproductive to the Kingdom.
When precious people pass on, they leave a gaping hole in our lives: a personal Grand Canyon we must learn to maneuver in and around. It’s difficult and different, but by the grace of God, we learn to manage.
I was sitting again in Luke 2 this morning when it occurred to me how the principle players in the nativity saga have one thing in common: an uncommon commitment to obedience.
The term Prince of Peace is not an optimistic claim on Christ’s life and ministry but an accurate description of who Christ is. Peace is a Person and this Person left heaven and lived on earth as an olive branch extended toward humanity. He came as a babe in a manger to grow up and build a bridge of peace between God and man.
Mary allowed the Lord to ident her life in new and uncomfortable ways. She surrendered her uterus; dare I say the most intimate part of the female frame? She allowed God to have His way with her heart and He left an exquisite impression upon it.
The winter-time flurry of childhood wonder has come and passed all too quickly. But still, it’s Christmas. Christ has come and He’s coming again. And thankfully, Advent reminds me to wait with joyful anticipation even as the seasons change.
“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the goal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9 NIV) I’ve long heard it preached; a king riding on a donkey comes in peace, a king…