Good Evening Dear Church,
I hope you are doing well today! Because Thanksgiving has officially passed, it is time for Christmas! And, I must confess, it is one of my favorite seasons, not necessarily because of cookies, or family, or gifts-although I love all those things! It is one of my favorite seasons because I usually feel a spiritual “refresh” during this season. There is something about thinking about the birth of our Lord that fills my heart with cheer. This extended time to reflect on the birth of Christ is a time that I almost always feel, spiritually speaking, revived.
There is something about the Christmas hymns, the Scripture readings, the characters of the birth narratives that moves my heart to anticipate the coming of Christ every year. This is because at Christmas, God began his campaign-long prepared for-to take back the cosmos, to take back humanity, to take back his image from the grips of darkness.
In other words, the road to the cross begins at the manger. The Incarnation is the beginning of the end. Golgotha begins with Bethlehem. “It is finished” begins in that little town of Bethlehem.
And the only appropriate response to this stunning turn of events, namely, the miraculous birth of Christ, is to marvel, and worship. The only way to appropriately respond to this kind of ultimate love is with our own love towards our Messiah. It demands a trust from us. It beckons us to hope in him. And this hope will never put us to shame.
So, this Christmas season, can I recommend you find ways to meditate on the richness of the coming of Christ? Perhaps commit yourself to reading one of the four gospels between now and Christmas? Perhaps commit yourself to memorizing John 1:1-18? Fill your house with good, solid, Christ-exalting Christmas music (Start here). Find ways to train yourself to anticipate the day of Christ’s birth. And together, on the day of Christ’s birth, we will sing out together, “Joy to the world!”
In Christ,
Pastor Matt