Here He comes!

The final Sunday of Advent approaches. The Psalm for this coming Sunday reads:

1-2 God claims Earth and everything in it,
God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.

3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won't cheat,
women who won't seduce.

5-6 God is at their side;
with God's help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.

7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
8 Who is this King-Glory?
God, armed
and battle-ready.
9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
10 Who is this King-Glory?
God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.
(The Message)

It’s a very appropriate Psalm for Christmas. The Psalm concludes (vv. 7-10) with Yahweh entering the Temple to be with His people. Christmas concludes with Yahweh entering a stable, taking on human flesh, to be with His people.

Merry Christmas!

The deeds of Jesus

This coming Sunday will be the third Sunday of Advent. One of the Gospel readings for this Sunday comes to us from Matthew 11:1-10. Jesus’ cousin John has been thrown in prison. However, John is still able to hear about Jesus’ activities. John, curious about what is going on, sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him if He is the expected Messiah. N.T. Wright in his Matthew for Everyone commentary makes some interesting suggestions about why John would ask such a question.

Wright suggests:
- That John expected the Messiah to be like Elijah. More specifically, he expected Jesus to confront the powers of His day with shock and awe. If people didn’t believe or receive Him as king, they would be destroyed like the Baal worshippers in Elijah’s day when he called down fire from heaven.
- That Jesus would confront Herod and put an end to his kingship and rule. Then Jesus would take over as the true king with John close by His side.

Wright goes on to say that Jesus is one step ahead of John’s preconceived story line. John thinks Jesus should be ushering in judgment, but instead all he hears about is mercy.

What do you think?
­ Why was John so confused?
­ Did he have a right to be confused?
­ How might we, like John the Baptist, confuse the church’s mission?
­ Should Jesus’ ministry be reflected in how the church ministers?
­ How does this relate to what the church should be doing today?

Something to look forward to...

We now begin the second week of Advent. This week’s Old Testament scripture reading comes to us from Isaiah 11:1-10. Verses 2-5 offer a comforting picture of the coming Messiah who will take away the sins of the world. Isaiah describes Him as,

- One who lives in the Spirit (God’s Spirit resting upon Him)
- One who knows what to do in any given circumstance (wise)
- One who can show sympathy as well as empathy (understanding)
- One who can advise (counsel)
- One who can rule above all others (power)
- One who knows intimately and accurately what God the Father is like (knowledge and fear of God)
- One who looks at the heart (doesn’t judge or decide by appearance)
- One who is completely right in everything He does (righteous)
- One who sets wrongs right (justice)
- One who is committed to those He loves (faithful)

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to celebrate the birth of such a wonderful Person!

First Sunday of Advent

This coming Sunday will be the first Sunday of advent. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to comment. This is a time for Christians around the world to celebrate together the coming of the Christ. The Old Testament lectionary reading for this Sunday comes from Isaiah 2:1-5. This portion of Scripture is a prophecy about Judah and Jerusalem.

In verse 5 Isaiah says,

“Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.

In the Old Testament the word “walk” was commonly used to describe one’s life. It spoke of how one was living. Peppered throughout the Old Testament Israel is asked to walk with God; to make Him a part of their daily life. In 1 John 1:7 we are encouraged to walk in Christ,

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
purifies us from all sin.

The invasion that happened two thousand years ago on planet Earth allows every person on the face of this green and blue planet the opportunity to walk with God. It truly is a time to celebrate and rejoice!