“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9.6-7
It’s apparently that season again. Whether you want it or not, whether you welcome it or not, whether you asked for it or not Christmas is here. And how do we know? It’s filling the aisles of Walmart (since October), it’s lighting up lamp posts in Main Street USA, it’s inadvertently turning on the television to Will Farrell’s “Elf” for the 100th time. It’s truly impossible to miss it. My favorite Country and Christian radio stations have been dominated by Christmas carols and even my favorite coffee shops cups won’t let me escape the madness.
It’s actually not that bad. I mean, I don’t mind it so much. But my point is made – Christmas is everywhere we look, everything we see and ramping up to an all consuming exercise of consumerism and calorie counting! (Case in point — I am writing a blog about Christmas while eating a Christmas cookie!)
But since we are caught up in this season anyway, why not hone in on what matters most? We could begin by pointing out the cultural Christmas compared to the churches emphasis on Advent. Christmas is suppose to be about the coming Messiah, the birth of the Christ, the arrival of God in the flesh. But the only flesh we tend to care about is what I am wearing on mine. What new shoes I can buy, etc. And so, I am laying aside my current Bible study to focus upon what everyone else is focusing on and that’s Christmas, or Advent, and I mean Jesus!
If we are going to be “tracking with Advent” we need to look at those verses that remind us of the true reason for this season. Isaiah 9.6-7 couldn’t be beat: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” A child is born, a son given, he will be the ruler of all, and his name will not be St. Nicolaus but will be “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This is good news.
While we were still in our sin, God reached down to us. He sent us his Son Jesus, a child born into a humble stable in a small rural village of Bethlehem. And to this meager beginnings would be given the whole of the government, the world, the rule. This isn’t just any child, no, he is the actual Son of God with incredible identifying titles – Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Is this what you get when you turn on the TV or go out into your community? Has the world missed the main message or what?
We can remember and we can retell the story. We can certainly enjoy the festive season while remaining faithful to the Prince of Peace. We can recount the old narrative of the birth of this child to a Jewish teenage girl and a carpenter for a father, but with a Heavenly Father in God. We can rejoice with the angels, and sing the Christmas carols, and soak up the rejoicing world (though for the right reasons) that Christ has come. He is among us indeed.
So don’t hold back, welcome the holiday season as we track with Advent and celebrate Jesus in the flesh. Tell your neighbors and call your friends. For God has come and he is here.
”O Lord God, even this house in the country in which I sit has a small Christmas tree with lights so I might remember you as the Light of the World. Everywhere I look, everywhere I go, I see evidence of a season which with the correct focus points me to you. Come now, Holy Father, redeem our work. Make your name great. Help us see you in this season and fill us with your power and love. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen