A Challenging Advent

This has been a challenging Advent. Sure, there were the typical myriads of details that come with ministry as we journey toward Christmas, but that was not where the deep challenge arose. The real issue came in the tragedies and chaos of the world around us during this season. Right when I was writing sermons on peace, joy, hope, and love, we were confronted with injustice, riots, protests, and deaths. As we gathered to worship and experience the spirit of Christmas, a heaviness met us every Sunday.

In my prayers and preparation, I found myself talking to God about the difficult juxtaposition, and about the challenge of finding my way through the darkness to see the light of Christ. In a profound moment of prayer, I sensed God say, “Yes, it’s just like the first Christmas.”

Indeed, the nativity of our Lord did not take place in some sanitized story. Instead, Mary and Joseph made their way through the physical and emotional journey that led them to an over-full city, the chaos of crowds, and to the rejection that came from their position and poverty. Against a backdrop of political issues that rival any in our world today, and amid the exploitation and evil that seem to pervade human existence, God brought two young people from an out of the way town, to the meager hospitality of an animal stall. It was there, where no one was looking, that God broke though, and the Light of the world was birthed in the darkness. In the midst of chaos, the Prince of Peace was born.

We tend to think our time is different, our challenges unique, but such is not the case. The human condition is still the same, and our brokenness leads to pain and suffering. Evil still tries to have its day, but that is not the end of the story. The good news of the Gospel message is that the darkness does not win. At the end of the day, the light of Christ is victorious! Far more than just a distant hope, it is a promise that the brokenness of our world cannot overcome the wholeness of God. John writes in his Gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (1:5 ESV) That is a tremendous promise and an equally amazing reality!

As I reflected on my feelings about this Advent season, I realized that the real challenge was that I wanted to preserve the sentimentality of the season. God, however, was, and is, far more concerned with the significance of the season. Beyond seeking the warmth of happy Christmas songs and TV specials, God calls us to seek the life-changing power of the Savior. In this unassuming little baby born in Bethlehem, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. And in the face of the worst our world can offer, “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.” (Isaiah 9:6-7) That, my friends, is very good news!

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