Presence—the Very Best Gift of All
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This past week, as I made my way through the crush of people out at the mall … I tried to look deeply into the comings and goings of people: in and out of all kinds of stores. And I came to the conclusion that it was not that they came to buy things they already wanted; but rather, it was as if they came looking for something to want! Something that might fill a nameless need. If only for a moment it was a comment on our human nature – how God has created us (“planting eternity in our hearts” Ecclesiastes 3:11b). And what is this nameless need? The ancient church father, St. Augustine, perhaps put it best when he penned this opening line in his Confessions: “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, till they find their rest in thee” (I/1).
So, where is this most precious gift? Listen again to the angel’s voice: “And this will be a sign for you. You will find babe wrapped in swaddling cloths” (Luke 2:12a). Here’s the sign. And it’s radical news! Radical, in that it’s not some reality that lives in absolute unapproachable power. Radical in that the God of the whole universe, “maker of heaven and earth,” comes to us. And of all ways, in a manger … in all of its vulnerability, as a baby. Can you hear the infant’s cry? Can you see his little hands, that one day would bear the marks of nails and a cross? You see, in all the seemingly godless places of our darkened lonely lives, God has come for us, is here for us. God is with us – Emmanuel. Listen again, for this still small voice of God saying to you, through this infant Christ Child: “My beloved daughter, my beloved son, I, the Lord of life, am with you; you no longer need to feel alone, or keep searching for some “thing” to fill that nameless need. “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14; RSV).
Family members and friends of First Lutheran Church … wherever you may be … what causes great “comfort and joy” is this vulnerable presence of God in the deepest longings of our lives, which feeds human hunger and thirst. This is the beginning of where we follow the sign to the manger once more, to the table of belonging, to the table of real presence. Behold, the bread. Behold, the wine. Behold, the body of Christ in the communion of believers who gather around one another – as Christ’s ongoing body in the world – in this eternal time of Christmas. And so it was one cold Christmas Eve that the warmth of God’s big oven of spirited grace enfolded Martin Luther with incredible joy. He picked up the Bible … which he said ‘cradles the Christ Child still’ … and he read the same gospel account from St. Luke’s nativity account (Luke 2:8-14) to the folks in Wittenberg, Germany, that we will also hear once more. Luther exclaimed: ‘For to us! To us! A child is born! And for us! For us! God’s son is given!’
Last year at this time a family of carolers from First Lutheran shared this Christmas message at a couple of nursing homes in Sioux Falls. A sagely woman of deep faith, came out from her darkened room with the biggest smile as she heard the good news: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “Joy to the World.” And then she said to them: “Thanks for coming to visit. You’ve given me the wonder of Christmas once more, the very best gift, in giving of yourselves. Thanks for being here.” …. Did you hear it? Presence: the very best gift of God’s very self for us. Presence: the very best gift we can give in offering of ourselves for one another.
Let us pray: Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest – and let this, the very best gift of your presence – to us be blessed … and then shared with all around. AMEN. … And now, may the swaddling cloths of our dear Savior’s birth, enfold you once more in his “comfort and joy.”
John Christopherson
Senior Pastor
Living Between Christ's First and Second Advent
“ … it is full time now for you to wake up from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11; RSV)
“Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day the Lord is coming. … You also must be ready.” (Matthew 24:42, 44a; RSV)
These words from St. Paul and Jesus, in our Scripture texts for this coming weekend’s worship services (please read Romans 13:11-14 and Matthew 24:36-44), describe a difficult part of our existence in relation to God; that is our experience of waiting. As Christians, we are a people who are waiting between Christ’s first advent among us (i.e. Christmas) AND Christ’s second advent (i.e. when Christ finally and fully ushers in, as we pray, “Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven”). There’s a tension here because waiting means having but also not having at the same time.
But in the meantime … I think the church has laid so much emphasis on Advent as a season of preparation for Christmas (perhaps even equating Advent with Christmas?!) that we’ve forgotten, or even become complacent (blasé?), about what Jesus calls us to remember in “the last verse” of our Gospel text: “Therefore you must be ready; for the Son of man is coming [again] at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). I mean, how long has it been that you’ve even thought about Christ’s second advent/second coming, say nothing of a sermon or a Bible Study that addresses this teaching of Jesus? Did you know that 1/20th of the New Testament speaks about Jesus’ return? That there are over 300 references to his Second Coming or Second Advent. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament speak of Jesus’ return. And they speak of it with great confidence.
Finally, waiting – to draw upon this creative tension of having (Christmas) and not having (Christ’s second coming) – causes us to slow down, to pause and reflect, to ponder what is important or is to be truly valued in life … creating some sacred space in taking a deep breath … when we’re otherwise “dashing” and “blitzing” all over the place – not really awake, attending to the fundamental questions and needs of life, for ourselves or others. And so it is, in this Advent Season, that God is going to slowly bring us out into a quiet starry night, to prayerfully pause and ponder God’s Word made flesh in the incarnation, but also God’s Word of promise that is still coming to us from a horizon of hope … So, what are we waiting for? And how does this inform our waiting in-the-meantime?
“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lowly exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel … shall come to you …” (ELW #257, v.1).
In the enfolding grace of God, in Christ, that is mangered, yet still coming for you … now and forever …
John Christopherson
Senior Pastor