November 30
2013
Christmas – A Season of Faith -First Sunday of Advent (I of IV)
Every Saturday/Sunday for the next 4 weeks I will share an Advent Devotion on my blog. I’m calling this Advent Series “A Season of Faith”. I hope you enjoy it and will check back each week until Christmas 🙂
Christmas – A Season of Faith
First Sunday of Advent (I of IV)
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Luke 1:46
The Christmas season is upon us once again. How we like to see it come, and inevitably, by the end of it, how we love to see it go – and on to the New Year. We are a society of short attentions spans and quick fixes. We like the hustle and bustle of Christmas, the decorations, the shopping, the gifts, the family and friends, the Church service, the “thoughts” of “Peace on earth, goodwill to men” and “hope” and the “mystery” of the Child born in a manager. But we soon tire of the busyness, the excess, and the time, and begin to look forward to new and different things. The decorations lose their sparkle, the gifts their interest, and the influx of family and friends becomes tiresome. We want our old routine and schedule back.
This year maybe we can change that. Maybe this year we could look a little closer, a little deeper, and dig out longer lasting truths about the Christmas season. Maybe we can strip down the complexities and find the basic truths that will hold it all together – not just while the shops and stations play Christmas music and the stores have sales – but the truths that will hold it all together and make it applicable in our daily lives, long into the days, weeks and months of the New Year.
The story of the birth of the Christ Child, over 2000 years ago, in a stable, in a little town called Bethlehem, is a story of many truths. It has many themes and many implications for our lives today. How can a “story” that happened that long ago be applicable to my life today, you ask?
Well, first and foremost the Christ Child had to be born of a woman, to live 33 years on this earth as a man, in order that He could die on Calvary – taking on the sins of mankind – rising again on the third day and redeeming us by His blood, to have everlasting fellowship and life with the Father. There can be no Easter without Christmas. The Son of God had to become the son of man in order for the plan of salvation and eternal life to be completed.
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
“So it was all done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22).
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may also glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.’” (John 17:1-5).
This is THE thread of truth that runs through all the other messages of the season and brings it all together – weaving together a story of peace and goodwill and love and hope – the ultimate truth.
But there is another truth that I would like to share with you this Christmas season. A truth that I think we often miss – a truth that we should consider. A truth that may help us to understand WHY Christmas is much more than what many of us have come to expect and settle for. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2).
Consider the stories of each individual involved in the Christmas narrative. Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, Elizabeth, the Wise Men, the Shepherds, Herod, the Chief Priests and Scribes, Simeon and Anna. So many individuals, each with an individual part in the birth of Christ. When you look closely at each life, what thread knits them together? Why has each one’s involvement granted them a place in the Word of God – a part of one of the most amazing stories of all time?
The thread that brings them all together is faith. The Christmas story is a story of faith. Faith in many forms, shapes and sizes. Great faith, little faith, faith by sight, faith in science, faith in self, faith in the promises of God.
And how does that apply to my life, you ask? What does this have to do with me? Have you ever thought about Christmas as a season of faith? Have you ever considered your own faith? Have you ever thought about what you have faith in, what kind of faith you have, if you have any faith at all? Have you ever thought about the impact of your faith on your attitude, your decision-making, your well-being, and your every day life? Have you ever wondered why for many of us, Christmas has become just another holiday instead of the God given example of faith, love, and hope that it truly is?
Let us begin with a definition of the word “faith”. Collins dictionarydefines faith as a “strong belief especially without proof; religion; complete confidence or trust; allegiance to a person or a cause.”
Webster’s dictionary defines “faith” as: “A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; Complete confidence in a person or plan; Institution to express belief in a divine power; Loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person.
Unger’s Bible Dictionary defines “faith” as: “belief-trust – especially in a higher power…The word is used in Scripture most frequently in a subjective sense, denoting a moral and spiritual quality of individuals, by virtue of which men are held in relation of confidence in God and fidelity to him…the idea [also] being expressed by other terms, as “trust”, etc.” (pg 340).
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
“Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” (John 20:29).
Will you join us for the next 4 weeks as we consider Christmas as Season of Faith? Each week we will look at the faith stories of the various individuals involved in the Christmas Story.
As we do so, I would ask that you consider some of the following questions: How does your faith impact the celebration of Christmas? Do you have faith in the truth of the birth of the Christ Child? Do you have faith in the hope that that birth brings forth? Do you have faith in the “peace on earth, goodwill to men” message brought by the angels? Is it possible that an understanding of faith may bring back the polish of the Christmas Season? That we may be able to begin to peel away the rush and complexity and the disappointment that we often feel after the season, and bring back to our lives and the lives of those we lose, the simplicity and hope that the first Christmas epitomized?
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, Almighty God, Giver of hope, love and life itself; we praise Your holy name and thank you for this Christmas Season – the Season in which we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child – the first step on the road to Calvary and eternal life. Although some of us would be hesitant to admit it, for many of us the Christmas Season has lost its meaning and we have been left with a time of rush and excess and stress that leaves us empty and disappointed at the end of the season. We long Father for the meaning and simplicity of earlier times. But we aren’t exactly sure where we took the wrong turn and how to find our way back. We ask Father that you would grant us wisdom and understanding this Christmas season as we search your Word and study the lives of faith of those involved in the events of the first Christmas. Grant us divine revelation Father. Show is Your truth. Help us to examine our faith and its impact on how we celebrate the birth of Your Son as well as how it impacts our daily lives, long after Christmas has passed. We bring these things before You in the precious name of Jesus. Amen and Amen and Amen.