Rejoice! Rejoice!
12/19/2016 .For most of us, the Christmas season is the busiest time of the year. There are presents to buy, a home to decorate, cards to send, presents to purchase. This list is endless. Yet, Christmas is the time God invites us to open a present we could never purchase ourselves. He asks us to come to the manger to find him.
1: O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Christmas isn’t about the busyness of the season. It is about a love deeper than we know. God with us.
Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel; shall come to thee, O Israel.
Emmanuel, It means God with us. We are not alone because God can never leave us alone. Each of us are always in his love, his presence, his care. People will fail us, institutions will close their doors, plans will go awry. But God will never leave. You will never be forsaken, rejected, abandoned, forgotten and alone. He gives himself to you. And he never stops whispering into your life: with you. With you. With you.
Through his coming on earth God made a wild, bold proclamation: I love you. Nothing you can do or failed to do can change the strength of my love for you. You are the child I created and whose name is etched in the palms of my hand. You are the one who I think about, the one I can’t stop singing love for. You are my child and I will suffer for you. I will carry you through all your pain until it is no more.
2: O Little Town of Bethlehem - He humbled Himself to be like us in order to connect with us.
How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv’n; So God imparts to human hearts, the blessings of His Heav’n.
Let’s face it, stables are not palaces. They reek, they are unkept and are filled with manure. A stable is the place where Jesus was born. He could have chosen a royal place and laid in a golden crib. His birth could have occurred in a home, less regal, but warm, tidy and filled with love.
When God feels far away from you, does it help you to know our God appeared in the stench of a stable? If he avoided the red carpets and the royal palaces of the day to be born in a cold, dingy barn, is there any place on earth where his love won’t appear?
God meets us not so much in the lovely, the times when life is going well, but where we are most needy. He knew neediness as baby. He depended on his parents for his life. The Christ, who gave us mercy, was at the mercy of the innkeeper, who sadly told Mary and Joseph there was no room for them. Yet Jesus curled up in the rough hewn wood of that stable manger in love.
3: Count Your Blessings - Rejoice in what you have.
The best part of the holiday favorite, White Christmas, is when Bing Crosby, in his baritone voice, sings Count Your Blessings to Rosemary Clooney. The advice is ageless: “When you’re worried and you can’t sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep and you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.”
Remember at the first Christmas, Jesus wasn’t born into ideal circumstances. Mary’s fiancé, Joseph, thought she had been unfaithful and wanted to break off the engagement. Just as Mary was getting ready to give birth, the couple had to travel on foot from Nazareth to Bethlehem – a distance of about 90 miles. Mary gave birth in a stinky, cold stable with only Joseph to help. The Light of the World made his grand entrance as a little baby. Yet the glory of that night could not be held in. Angels sang, shepherds and wise men came to visit because hope, true Hope for the world, was born.
Life will always be less than ideal, so it is wise to count your blessings. Rather than focusing on what you don’t have, rejoice in what you have. Rather than arguing with your family, praise them for the gift they are. Rather than wishing for better circumstances, embrace God’s plan for your life. And rather than walking through suffering alone, depend on the hope Jesus gives as He walks with you. Christ’s birth brought healing and promise to the entire world – no matter what the ache or longing, the sorrow or affliction. That is the best blessing anyone can receive.
4: Do You Hear What I Hear? - Accept His goodness and light.
The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night; He will bring us goodness and light
The Light who shines within us can be dimmed by our busyness. The rush of preparations, the desire for a perfect holiday, or even the memories of past Christmases can accentuate both our deepest hopes and the fears that keep us up at night.
We know Christmas isn’t about getting nice gifts – it is about the Light of the World entering into it and offering us grace. The light of the Star of Bethlehem meant God crawled into our world to heal it and mend our broken hearts.
He knows us intimately. Even into those places we seek to hide, his light enters. Just like the light in the sky dazzling the shepherds, that blinding brilliance of the angel who brought good tidings to all people, his light is for you. You can always count on it: Jesus is the light surrounding you, illuminating your footsteps, bring warmth to every corner of your life. His light is always waiting to shatter the darkness. His mission is a wild and loving pursuit of us.
The child sleeping in the night would awaken. The babe sleeping in the wooden manger eventually would lay down on a wooden cross. And with the scars he bore on our behalf there, he would restore us. He would save us.
5: Joy to The World
Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King!
Happiness is over-rated. But joy – there can never be enough joy. Most people confuse happiness and joy. Joy transcends happiness. Joy is the positive confidence we posses by knowing and trusting God regardless of our circumstances.
So how do we receive joy during Christmastime? By taking a few moments to rest in the presence of the One who loves you the most and has every detail of your life in his hands.
Christmas is the wild and beautiful story that redeems us because the impossible became possible. The babe in the manger teaches us when God shows up and weaves his heart into our stories, our joy cannot be contained. We are valued because of him.
We repeat the sounding joy because he affirms to us: You are loved. In me, you are enough. You are valued, treasured and adored. You have something to offer the world. You are blessed beyond measure. You are my child, and you, dear one, are amazing.
May you experience the love of Jesus and a deep awareness of his presence in your life at Christmas and throughout the coming year.