Once again we are on the way to Christmas and I find myself wondering what might happen to us and within us and among us if we were to truly leave our fields and follow the star to Bethlehem to see this thing which has come to pass?
We might begin to believe that the Light will indeed shine in the darkness and that the darkness will never overcome it. We might know in our hearts that the one who made us is with us and offers hope.
We might begin to believe that the one true Love, the Love that has the power to change us all has come into being in the person of the babe in the manger.
We might begin to believe that the sharing in and the sharing of that Love, however and wherever we can, in ways great and small, is the only thing worth doing.
The great message of Christmas, of the Incarnation, is that in our weary world and our often times darkened lives, Jesus comes to share God’s love and grace. We might really believe God is with us and allow peace and justice to prevail.
"The shepherds returned; glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen..." Luke 2:20
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2 comments:
If the "we" in "if we were to truly leave our fields" were collective enough to represent community, the chances of success would certainly become geometrically progressive because family and friends are in the fields too. If a few awakened individuals strike out in earnest for Bethlehem and leave behind loved ones, they could be headed for Bethlehem and arrive at a really litigated New Year. Such is the state of contemporary life.
The message of Bethlehem is so promising and simple that it should immediately ring true and compel all who hear it to leave the field together and strike out on the journey with a good idea of where Bethlehem is. The message should prompt the same response as the exclamation of "FIRE!", but most have yet to acknowledge the consequences of a burned spirit, and fail to respond. What if we all started out with a "burning" spirit? Then nothing could stop us all from leaving the fields and arriving in Bethlehem. My Christmas wish will be for a burning spirit and a little chocolate for the road.
Unlike my erudite and informed friend, Tom, my contribution to your blog is much more mundane. As I have grown older (dare I admit that I am a young 67?), I have learned so much that has contributed to the maturing of my faith. In this Advent season, I am now understanding the significance of waiting, expecting, hoping, anticipating, exhulting. My focus used to be on family (which is not all bad) and the joy and excitement of being together and celebrating the Christmas season, including attending church. Now I discover that the place to start is church. I cannot express the wonderous joy I am experiencing now that I am pastoring a church. Last Sunday, in a church with 53 members, we had 14 children participating in their Christmas program with 64 persons in attendance. It was outstounding (a word I coined)!
I agree with Tom that we should be no less excited, and maybe more so , when we shout "fire". Maybe we need to feel about this the way you suggested recently about our involvement in overt evangelism.
If we can't get boisterous for God at the Christmas season, when will it happen? Let us leave the fields and enter the neighborhoods, the workplaces, the shopping centers, the office buildings, AND THE CHURCHES, and shout "Emmanuel, God is with us!"
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