♪A Note of Thanks ♪
And a sword will pierce your own soul too. Luke 2:35
During this Advent season we have gathered together to worship each Sunday. Our church sanctuaries have been beautifully adorned with Crismon trees, lights, candles and greenery. At South Roebuck Baptist Church there is a beautiful, almost full, life-like, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. At Baptist Church of the Covenant there is a miniature manger display on the Communion table. I have observed people stopping to look at these nativity scenes. Children have been delighted and adults have paused to ponder.
What is interesting to me is that these nativity scenes are placed in front or adjacent to the pulpit area, and directly behind these settings of the manger are crosses made of either metal or wood for all to see. Isn’t it ironic that as we look at the beauty of the manager and consider the mystery of Jesus being born, that behind that mystery is an even greater mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection? Isn’t that the real reason that Christmas has hold of our hearts and our souls?
I think that we often miss the real power behind the story of the birth of Jesus because we lose sight of the end of the story. The child grew to be a man. The man loved God so fully and completely that he, in turn, loved the world, loved you and me. He lived fully and loved faithfully and was all that God had created Him to be. He became a Savior for us, a doorway to Heaven, because he would rather die than reject the truths that love conquers hate, hope prevails over despair, and life wins out over death.
As you read this, Christmas Day draws near and perhaps it is important to remember that after the shepherds went back to their fields and after the Magi returned to their homes, Mary and Joseph took the child, Jesus, to be dedicated at the Temple. There they met an old man named Simeon, who as he held the baby Jesus, said to Mary, “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” The old man, Simeon, pointed to the truth that the baby Jesus would grow up and be faithful to the promise of God’s love, even if it cost him his life. I wonder if Christmas is really about teaching us to do the same: grow into adults who are willing to risk the comforts of our living so that love and hope, peace and joy might be known in our world.
I hope that this Christmas, amid the joy of the season, the exchange of gifts and the time with family and friends, that you and I pause and ponder for a moment and remember a child who became the one who loved God so completely and lived so fully that he could not and would not compromise the truth of God’s relentless love for us. This is love, a love that saved our lives, a love that you and I could learn from.
O Christ, Redeemer of us all, come again and inhabit my heart, so that I might love as you have loved and so be part of God’s dream for our world. In Jesus’ Precious and Holy Name. Amen.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
With joy in my heart and grateful for serving alongside you, I am….
Your friend,
Mark David Jackson
