You say this is from God but I didn’t ask for it! I asked for love but I never asked to have my heart broken. I asked for a family but I never asked for the worry that goes along with it. I asked for a beautiful place to live with sandy beaches and rolling hills, but I never asked for the snow.
Did you know that last night was the longest night of the year? Beginning today the days get longer. The darkest day of the year is behind us. We will get increasingly longer days until June 22. The thing is, this is the second darkest day of the year, and we anticipate the coming of the birth of Jesus into our lives.
We try to live in the light of Christ we try to live into the joy of the Christmas season but for some of us there is little to no joy this time of year. The holidays only bring up memories of what is past. This season opens old wounds because what could have been… never was. Sadness, depression, anxiety, these are some of the things that mark the holidays for some. Striving for perfection, disappointment, disillusionment over unmet expectations, this is not what God intends for us.
In the midst of struggle, some wonder where God is. Where is God in my darkness? Where is the light that we so desperately seek?
The light is among us. Jesus came to be the light of the world. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit lives within you. Our task is to uncover the light that is hidden.
We have expectations and people let us down so we put up walls and barriers. A little light is blocked. We suffer great loss and pain so we protect our hearts. A little more light is blocked. We fall into habits and routines and it's all too easy to forget where the light came from in the first place.
The light may be diminished in your world but it never will be gone. This may be the second darkest day of the year but greater light is coming. There is HOPE.
(Light the first Advent candle)
At the beginning of the Advent Season we lit this first candle. It the candle of the prophets that looked forward. It’s the candle of hope. A prophet is not a fortune teller. A prophet is a person who walks with God and can see where Things are heading for Gods people. The prophet understands God’s promises and boldly challenges people to live into them.
But that rarely feels safe. It always seems more prudent to hold back.
There’s this guy in the Bible named Joseph. Joe had a fiancé. A young girl named Mary. This is the one he was going to spend his life with. This is the one he would raise a family with. However it may have come to be, whether they had an arranged marriage or if they fell in love we don’t know but this was the girl.
Things were falling into place for Joe. But then she got pregnant.
We always talk about how good a man Joe was; how he decided to quietly call of the engagement. Can you imagine the sting of rejection when he found out she was pregnant? He had to decide what to do. We know what he eventually did but I don’t want to minimize that moment…that process. In one moment had his life together, he had the plan to move forward in place and in the next minute it all fell apart. “Joseph, I am pregnant and it’s not your baby.” I imagine he struggled with this news. I imagine he agonized over it. But he loved her. He must have loved her because if this were only an arranged marriage well then this would be no reflection on him he had been betrayed, he could just let the law deal with her.
But no, he must have loved her so he discreetly decided to end the engagement. He was probably thinking long and hard about these things. He must have been considering how this was all going to play out. And he probably went to bed one dark night resolved to take care if this problem and thinking on these things. You ever do that? You ever think about things just before you fall asleep? You ever keep yourself awake at night because you just can’t seem the stop the thought train from chugging down the tracks? I’ve done that. It isn’t until your body is completely exhausted before you fall asleep.
I imagine it was a long night like that for Joseph when he decided to do this thing; when he decided to cut Mary loose and go on with his life. I imagine it was difficult to come to that decision because the girl that he loved would not be a part of his life. I imagine the light in his life was diminished that night. And then after a time he fell asleep on that very dark night of his life. What he needed was peace
(Light the second candle)
Then he had a dream. Joe had a dream. In that dream God came and spoke to him through and angel and said “Joseph, don’t be afraid. Take Mary as your wife. Not only that I want you to name him Jesus.” In the morning he woke up. God told Joseph to take Mary as his wife and give her unborn child a name. The child would be born and Joseph was to give him his name.
Let’s think about that God wasn’t asking joseph to get out of the way. It’s not like God and Mary had a deal and joseph just happened to be hanging around. God said you give him the name that I have given you. He was telling to take Jesus as his own. We like to talk about how blessed Mary is and it true but Joseph was chosen by God to be Jesus’ earthly father. It wasn’t his child, its true. But the light was starting to shine through. This is bigger than his plans. This is bigger than his desires. He had hopes, dreams and expectations but this was God’s will and God’s will trumps everything else. God was asking Joseph to be a partner in nurturing the baby that would grow to be the messiah that would sacrifice himself to be the savior of the world.
Last week we had the children’s program and we didn’t light a candle on the Advent wreath. The third candle is the pink on that represents Joy.
Josephs Joy candle was not lit that dark night as he lay down to go to sleep. But joy can be present in our lives even if we don’t feel happy, even if we are not content, even if we are not comfortable. Joseph woke up that next morning with a changed heart and mind. Life didn’t get any easier. The circumstances hadn’t changed but he was following the will of God. God wants to make your joy complete. Remember the parable of the talents? When we are faithful God says to us, “Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.”
No comments:
Post a Comment