Jesus the Light

John 1.1-4, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word was made flesh. A mystery – something beyond human understanding. Something so wonderful, we celebrate this mysterious reality every year, every day

The stories of old written in the Bible and repeated each year that we listen to and sing have led us to this moment. Oh and we’re not done yet. The story never ends. The songs never end. New ways to tell the story keep coming; new songs keep being written.

Why, because in each generation our stories remain the same. They are about people who lived and died. People who made a home for themselves, worked, laughed and cried. People who lived the best they could with what they had. People who so often have never really understood the God who says, I love you: I am your God; you are my people

So through the prophets, God had been sending love letters. Some of warm words, some sharp.             Some to encourage and some to correct. Because the author of those letters, the Word himself, Jesus, before he was born, knew that we can love only because he first loves us. That’s what love does: true love transforms.

The trouble with all these love letters is that the people needed to see the author. They needed to see the eyes and hear the voice. They needed to believe that God actually understood what it meant to live in the world we know.

So Jesus made his dwelling among us – the word is the same as the old testament word tabernacle – the meeting place for worship. To show us that he cares; he entered our reality so that we may enter his. The reality where community, love, holiness belonging are real.         To show us that he knows. He knows what it’s like to be misunderstood. To not get along with his siblings. To be judged unfairly. To be accused of having the wrong friends. To get sick, to die young. To show us that whatever we may face, he has too.

All this so that we can trust him more fully and take him at his word.  ^{John 16.33} “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

That’s why we celebrate Christmas every year and Easter every Sunday.              Jesus dwells among us still

Take him at his word, will you? He is our God and we are his people, In the name of the Father, Son and Spirit, Amen!

Tidings Of Great Joy?

Christmas is upon us – again! As if we’d miss it or get bored by it. Although, this year our church community has approached Christmas in a way like never before. We’ve had a number of difficult events in the congregation over the past few weeks, including two sudden and unexpected deaths here in Ponoka and one in the Netherlands.

It’s certainly made it harder to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Every year we’re challenged by keeping spending and excess under control, aren’t we? Not to mention the non-stop slappy-happy commercialism complete with annoying commercials on TV. Conflicting with the fact that many parents can’t afford what their children apparently must have. Families are often pushed to provide a simple gift and a good meal. Food banks are run ragged right about now. But for our community the point of Christmas has been harder to keep in focus.

In services we always talk about peace, love, hope and joy; often I wonder what those simple words mean. It’s easy to confuse joy with happiness and hope with getting what I want. Love with warm feelings and peace with the relief that comes after the holiday with its extra services is over. Not this year, this year we’re remembering that all these gifts come from outside into willing hearts. What I mean is that we can’t just manufacture them. They must be received so that hearts can become willing to accept joy as a deeper experience that often appears without happiness, or hope that gives strength to keep walking even when death strikes close to home. Or love that comes by way of a text or email, like: I’m praying for you. Or peace appearing when there seems to be nothing but chaos all around; it’s like being in the eye of the hurricane.

This year we’re coming to realize in a profoundly new way that God is good when times are good and when times are hard. The Bible often refers to times of suffering and disaster and the like as darkness. And the Bible also offers an important word to help us keep things in perspective: “In Jesus is life, and that life is the light of men and women. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1.4-5) Or as St Francis said: “all the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

Approaching Christmas this year has been learning to hold on even tighter to that candle, the single candle who is the babe of Bethlehem, King, Lord and victor over death and the grave.

I don’t know which of Christ’s gifts you need this year. Whichever: Hope, joy, love or peace are available. Find a Christmas service, hear the whole story and be encouraged. No matter what this truly is the season for tidings of comfort and joy!

Spirituality Promised?

Today is our last Sunday before Christmas.

Over the past weeks we’ve been working through the way Jesus’ coming changed the world.

 In Jesus the ways of the world are just a bad option. He exposed he Roman Empire – politics and the economy – for what it is: a hollow pursuit that brings no peace.

In Jesus the light of God’s glory shines on Creation exposing what cannot live in the light – pornography, cruelty and spoiled nature – exposing it for what it is: a hollow pursuit of pleasure that brings no joy.

In Jesus the ways of excluding people based on race, status, good behaviour or gender are overturned, exposing those for what they are: hollow attempts at enforcing injustice that brings no love.

Today will be more of the same. We want to find out how Jesus brings truth and purity to our spirits. Many in the world today are looking for spiritual truth. Spirituality is the new trend. Talk show hosts talk about it, new religions and philosophies are promoted. Most say that all we need is love, but they don’t define it. Instead they offer a spirituality of self-love and self-improvement that cannot work simply because it depends on the weak to somehow become strong through will power and effort. This too is hollow and offers no real hope. Failures just keep on piling up under the debris of good intentions and dark secrets.

 Let’s read a story of how real hope is birthed, how true spirituality is born.

Luke 1.26-38

²⁶In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

A simple story. Again imagine it with me. A 13 or 14 year old woman has a vision, a conversation with an angelic being. He calls her favoured, the Lord is with you. Those are not traditional greetings; kings don’t get them, let alone someone without social status. Then Gabriel tells Mary that she will experience what Moses did. The cloud of God’s presence will descend and cover her like thick fog. And somehow Divine power would cause her to conceive – the regular God given laws of nature would be suspended. Just as through Moses God birthed the nation of Israel, through Mary God will send his Son. That’s been his promise and God’s word never fails.

Have you ever, like I have wondered how she got pregnant? Many today in and outside of the church say that what we just read is a nice story invented to cover up the scandal of Joseph being a bit eager and Mary a bit easy. If that was true then why does the bible bluntly tell us of all the sexual misconduct of God’s people from Abraham to David and only cover up this one instance? Others think that maybe God appeared, just like he did with Abraham and in human form impregnated Mary. If that was true then the Bible lies – God is Spirit, says John, not flesh. This option is just a way of turning the Almighty into Zeus or some other false god of the Greeks or Romans. And of course there is the scientific opinion; after all we know that for a woman to get pregnant, the seed must be deposited.

The debates continue, but they miss the point entirely.

Mary’s encounter with God’s presence is a mystery. Commonly we think of mystery as a solvable problem and that’s too often - from Genesis to Revelation – the way so many people try to approach the Bible. A method that will fail, by the way. True there are things in Creation that we can explore and examine. Science is God’s gift, but there are also things by God’s will that remain hidden. This is what I mean by mystery unknowable events; Jesus’ conception cannot be examines and solved because it is the deepest spiritual happening that has ever has been. God overshadowing humanity to become humanity.

In this encounter with Gabriel God speaks to Mary and in the exchange we hear her decision. We hear what kind of spirituality she has chosen. Mary responds to her Lord with submission and devotion. Sure she asks how it could happen – biologically speaking, but she asks in faith and accepts the word of God in faith.

In that moment more than a baby is conceived in her, birthed in her. In that moment she meets her Lord face to face. In that moment her life is changed forever. The self-righteous judgment of her community will not defeat her; the confusion of raising such a son will not overwhelm her; the pain of standing at the foot of the cross watching him die will not overwhelm her.

God has birthed more in her than His Son. He has birthed in her a life of devotion, faith and trust. God births hope in willing hearts. Hope powerful enough to see her through whatever life may bring.

What is being birthed in you?

God’s promise in baptism is to call, invite and birth spiritual life.  Profession of faith is acceptance of that call. Embracing the giver of hope to say, ³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant.” “May it be to me according to your word.”

Mary, it seems had a choice. Interestingly her name can mean either Bitterness in rebellion; or celebrated. By grace she accepted and lived into the second one: celebrated, favoured. How many painfully embrace bitterness in rebellion?

Advent is a time to look inside and see if there is a hollow space longing to be filled. Much of Jesus’ ministry is to call those who are hollow inside, those who do their best to present a good image to become honest and open to receive the hope they need.

Have you received that hope, do you want it? What is being birthed in you?

No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God’s spirit overshadows the willing. God’s spirit births a new woman, a new man, who will know hope as well as joy, peace and love.

What have you been hungry for this Advent? What encouragement will help you accept the mystery of Christ and live into it?

From Loneliness to Love?

Good morning as we continue in the season of Advent, we’ll read two passages. The first is Isaiah 35. The promise of God to restore and redeem discouraged people. Jerusalem has been destroyed and the exiles are in mourning. They aren’t particularly hopeful at the moment. In fact they are feeling alone, rejected and confused. Where is God, why did he let this happen to us?  Isaiah 35 answers those questions and more.

And we’ll also read three verses from Luke 2 – our text. Here we find the ultimate answer to loneliness.

Old Testament Scripture : Isaiah 35

The desert and the parched land will be glad;

the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;

it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

³     Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;

⁴     say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

he will come to save you.”

⁵     Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

⁶     Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

⁷     The burning sand will become a pool,

the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,

grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸     And a highway will be there;

it will be called the Way of Holiness.

The unclean will not journey on it;

it will be for those who walk in that Way;

wicked fools will not go about on it.

⁹     No lion will be there,

nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;

they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,

¹⁰       and the ransomed of the Lord will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Text : Luke 2:8-11

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

One of the issues that Israel had to deal with in their history was learning to trust God. Another was learning to understand God’s promises. I dare say not much has changed. The Lord established his people back in Exodus. They took that as privilege and to some degree they were right. But as with most things privilege comes with a price. The price was and still is to be God’s ambassadors in the world; to be a unique group visibly dedicated to God and living in the way of holiness. This of course takes trust and God’s people failed by trusting political power and wealth - other gods. They also misunderstood God’s promise when it came to social relationships. God’s laws all pointed toward a national family where everyone had a place at the table. A community where wealth, intelligence and status didn’t define one person as better than or as worse than someone else. Just like in our congregations, the offices of Elder, Deacon and Pastor are the same in importance, they differ only in role. Elders are not better than Deacons, and so on.

Anyway, for these reasons Israel has trouble and loses their nation. But God’s promise in Isaiah 35 hold firm and the exiles return about 70 years later; they restart the kingdom and by the time we read the happenings of Luke two. Little has changed. God’s people are still divided into the nice, the good, the powerful and the lower classes. God’s people still hasn’t grasped their role as God representatives on earth. The insiders are in control and the outsiders are not. There are places at the table for only a few.

So, God sends the Christmas angels to shepherds, of all people. As we said last week, this was a group of second class citizens, for sure. In spite of being sons of Abraham, they had few rights, were considered untrustworthy and could not be witnesses in court. All violations of the very laws that Moses gave and the Pharisees enforced. They along with “the Jews” a term often used to describe the lower class or at least the regular people, represent the vast majority of humanity that works and lives on the edges of society. The very young and the very old, the homeless and welfare recipients, the mentally ill and mentally challenged, the addicts and prostitutes, anyone who doesn’t fit in nice society, anyone who doesn’t have wealth, power or the right connections.

They also represent the lonely part of ourselves, the part of us that yearns to belong. The part that wonders if we’re good enough or smart enough or have hidden our faults well enough. The part of ourselves that wonders if people will accept or at least forgive us especially when our sins have become public.

Can you relate; does that part live in you?

Loneliness and insecurity are still a problem. What’s been learned, embraced since Jesus came? Sadly, those who should know community best are so often the ones who refuse doing what’s necessary for community to happen. Why do churches struggle with unity? Why do so many people move from congregation to congregation – looking for what? Why are there so many believers in the world who have given up on the church or membership in the church? Why do our neighbours so often reject the church as a place to find belonging?

So instead of announcing the best news of all –Christ’s birth – to the rich and powerful, God’s announcement comes to the outsider, the lonely, the misfit. And that’s a beautiful thing. In wisdom, God knows that his message cannot be easily received by the proud, by those who think they have their lives all together. The message of new life in Christ so often finds fertile soil in the hearts of the humble, by those who know their lives are a mess, by the young who trust easily and with a purity that brings tears to my eyes. Tears because pride is an easy place to hide, isn’t it? So when a child says they love Jesus, or explains how they understand some spiritual truth. I realize that more education is not the answer. Sitting at the master’s feet is.

The story of Mary and Martha teach us this wonderfully. Martha has to get things organized and keep busy. Mary just wants to listen to Jesus, hear his words, but more than that, absorb them; have them become her inner motivation. And that, possibly more than anything else is the way of holiness that Isaiah describes and the angels announce.

I grant the way of Holiness can be many things, but the core of it is to walk with Christ in the Spirit to the Father’s glory. Using terms like father and son tell us immediately that in God’s reality close relationships between believers is not only possible, but normal. The Spirit who also communes with the father and son is the power, the breath, the life of communion that brings and keeps people together. We are one Body of Christ – every believer that has ever or will ever live. The Apostle Paul says that, “After all, people have never hated their own bodies, but they feed and care for them, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body (Eph 5:29–30).

And yet within that Body, name calling and self-righteousness often looks like one hand cutting off a finger on the other, while the rest of the body looks on. As if people who are different in perspective or maturity are necessarily wrong; as if those who sin are unworthy of forgiveness and not welcome or needed anymore. How could that be since God has welcomed and accepted all who confess their need of him?

The way of holiness is often understood as a way of perfection: doctrinal purity, moral purity and behavioral purity are good goals, but how we decide what perfection looks like is often misguided and how believers deliver judgments is so often painful and just plain wrong.

It’s amazing that believers judge outside appearances so easily and confidently. It’s amazing how easily the worst is believed of another child of God without a direct conversation. It’s amazing how easily gossip and misunderstandings are so often left uncomforted.

After a year here, it seems clear to me that there is relational brokenness in our church. Not everyone here likes or respects everyone else. Some of you have questions about other’s commitments to the way of Jesus – to holiness. Isn’t the underlying theme self-righteous uninformed judgment.

Don’t be shocked or alarmed; this is a normal church. There is no perfect church and if you come across one that looks perfect, then you’ve just found a really talented group of actors living in denial.

There is an alternative to all of that. What if we engaged the way of holiness like the shepherds did, like Mary did? What if each of us committed to sitting at Jesus’ feet to hear his voice of love for ourselves? What is we dealt with our insecurities and loneliness and doubts together; learned to trust each other and developed deep bonds of fellowship that would be a magnet to anyone who is searching for an answer to life’s deep issues?

What if we decided to spend time with those we know and those we don’t? What if we approached those we have uncertainty about and asked in humble love to hear the cries of their heart? What is we treated others as better, holier than ourselves and found out what their motives and concerns are? What if we prayed for those who we have issues with?

What if we made it a point to suspend judgment and listen?

Is it just possible that loneliness would diminish and community grow? Genuine community, the kind of community Jesus came and died to give?

Isn’t it just possible that just as the shepherds found their place in God’s heart and were restored into God’s people, so too would many, many more?

Comfort?

Last Sunday we held a gathering to acknowledge that for many people times like Christmas can be difficult. Loved ones have moved or have left us. By New Year’s Eve, we’ve all had a birthday goals, dreams or plans for change can seem further away than ever. The days are dark and for some of us, a weariness takes hold.

So, in some ways Advent is exactly what we need. The light has come, joy is possible – it’s just that at a time like this, some wonder if it’s true. At some level, I wonder if most people feel this way at times. We live in tension.

For the past year I’ve been battling conflicting emotions. This year is our first away from BC during Christmas. It’s been a year since our home is in Ponoka and that meant leaving much behind. I’ve hesitated to speak this honestly about it until now for a couple of reasons. One is probably a bit of denial.

God wanted us here and made that plain. We’ve been warmly received and have a new beginning.  The denial is in leaving BC, our family, and not grieving the separation honestly. The second reason is connected to the first. It has to do with fear. The fear of giving the wrong impression – that we’re itching to return to BC. The fear that if we don’t invest in Sonrise, then the people of Sonrise won’t invest in us.

So, I’ll say it plainly, moving here has brought joy. But moving here has also involved loss. And I know that I am not the only one who has experienced loss this year. For some it was the passing of a father, a friend, a husband, sister, aunt or brother. For some it’s been the loss of a close friendship. For others the loss of a dream, opportunity or job. For some it’s been the loss of health.

Loss it seems is quite common. And in strange ways overshadows the joys we also experience. Because many of us having experienced a loss also experienced the joy of new life, births, relationships, healing and goals achieved.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel guilty about that conflict.

I believe that joy and grief both teach us        something and we need to explore both. We are called to live in the tension.

God knows this and gave words to a prophet long ago. Isaiah lived during periods of great joy and grief. He served four kings – three were good and one evil. He saw spiritual renewal and the destruction of Jerusalem because of sin. He knew joy and grief. He knew the overwhelming sorrow of painful loss.

So he spoke a word by the power of the Spirit: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God (Isaiah 40.1). I wonder how those people felt. Did God’s promise sound like wishful thinking? Were they wondering why, why did you let this happen, why did you do this to us? I suspect so and I suspect those who grieve       losses routinely think the same things.

Why not? God is king and nothing happens without his direct action or permission. And while God does explain why disaster came upon the whole nation, God remains silent as to why individuals have to suffered so.

Instead of answering God speaks the word we need to hear. Comfort, comfort, my people, says your God. With a deeply emotional groan of compassion and concern, God repeats the word comfort to emphasize his commitment to those he loves.

Comfort, comfort, says your God. The same word as in Psalm 23: Your rod and your staff comfort me. A profession of faith; your strength, wisdom and love bring me through the dark places.

I understand death as a natural conclusion to life – particularly when the man or woman        is in their eighties or nineties. I also understand people’s inability to love each other and accept each other easily; I have the same problem.

What I’m at a loss to explain is the death of the young, cruelty and inhumanity that causes so much pain and loneliness. I struggle with the reality of mental illness that imprisons young and old alike.

Don’t you?

Yet God’s response to these and every grief is the same –Comfort: let me comfort you, says the Lord. For the Father says: I know all about it: I too lost a son. I feel it too when you hurt and feel alone, discouraged and depressed. Never forget, I am with you;    I will never leave you. Be mad at me if that helps. Yell, cry, get it out, but please then, let us in quiet be quiet together.

God says we never walk alone.

I believe that because I believe God has done what he’s promised. The voice has called out from the wilderness The glory of the Lord was revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

On a Bethlehem night, God’s glory shone offering joy. On a Jerusalem morning   God’s glory was snuffed out, only to re-emerge filling the world. Each year the Advent message is the same: come, see the glory for yourself.

Come and dare to believe that the comforter is here.

What About Art And Angels?

Today’s message will be supported by visual art. For some of us, that will be a stretch and for others a welcome change. Our tradition struggles with the use of visual arts in worship. In the break with the Roman Church, one of the issues was that artistic images became objects of worship; instead of pointing worshippers to God, the picture or sculpture became God. A limited, controllable miniature replacement for God and that we will avoid.

Because art and artistic representations of Creation are a great gift. God has given two books of revelation. Scripture and Creation both teach us who God is and point to His glory and power.

So today, I invite you to see the world as it is and as it was and will be. Long ago the world along with Humanity fell into sin and spiritual darkness covered the land. Creation became a thing to use and abuse. And that included everything from slavery and prostitution to dog fighting and trophy hunting. The Gospel says that Jesus’ arrival was as light coming into the world. Light that exposes evil deeds done in shadow. Light that helps people see the beauty of Creation clearly. It should come to no surprise then that Jesus is born at night to the most extravagant fireworks display ever seen by so few.

As we read the familiar words of Luke 2 imagine the scene:

2              In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴             “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

A dry land, dusty roads, the brightest coloured clothing Imperial red scarves around the throats of Centurions. Everyone else dressed in greys and browns walking about brick or mud buildings – even the Temple subdued.

A dim stable where the king spent the night. Yellow straw, old wood, stone cast in shadow – And it’s night, even with the stars, dark; colours drained away to black and white. A quiet fire? The sound of animals and conversation? We don’t know. What we do know is suddenly an angel appears.

What did that look like?

Glory shone.

Angles appeared – a great many of them.

And what was that like?

Artists have tried to express such beauty for centuries.

Do angles look like this . . . . .

The truth is that we just don’t know. We do know that angels can take human form. The stories of Abraham, Daniel and Mary confirm it. We know that angels are warriors, servants and messengers. We know that angels shine glory – Gods glory all around. And that glory, brightness, clarity, purity is attractive. The truth is in plain sight and accepted; the world is revealed for what it is. And the glory within the human heart that we call being made in God’s image responds.

Human beings long for glory, the glory of God; we long for beauty.

Why else do we paint and carve and build and cultivate? Why else to we have museums and art galleries artists clubs and car shows? In Exodus a third of the book is devoted to fine art and craftsmanship commissioned by God for the building of the Tabernacle. Why? Could it be that it is in beauty that God is most at home and invites us to meet him there?

I wonder why it is that so many of us decorate for Christmas. As a child, we had little money, so my parents were wise to save for times of need and important events. As a young boy I remember getting the tree and decorating it with lights and fragile glass balls and ornaments. They sparkled and reflected the light. We would put that silver thread called icicles on and the whole thing would shimmer. I’d squint and see nothing but lights. Christmas Eve would come and food I’d see but once a year appeared in abundance. Croquette, smoked eel, chocolate, gouda cheese, mandarin oranges and Christmas cookies. Set on a festive table. It was beautiful. The plain became grand; the ordinary became amazing.

And at the centre was a family tradition that my oldest sister organized with courage: the family Christmas concert. There were 8 of us and we’re all musical in some fashion. So we sang and played and prayed. I believe God met us there in the beauty., just as he met us throughout the year in the ordinary.

The point I’m making is that in those moments of beauty we received a gift, a boost to carry us through the ordinary times and the dark times.

I believe the longing for beauty lives in all people, but of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For some beauty is in creating and constructing, for others it’s in nature and tending the garden. And when we meet God in beauty, all is as it should be; people find wholeness there, worth and purpose. They find joy.

True, many don’t understand this and their search for beauty gets confused. Body image and bust size, building, buying, accumulating and achieving the gifts and goals get twisted. We live in a time and culture that has too much to appreciate much of it for any period of time. Many Canadians are drowning in abundance. There is so much, but as Christmas shopping is telling us, there is a drive for more. More of what?

People can be surrounded by wonder and fail to see it. I teach at Ponoka Elementary on Thursdays. This week I was teaching on the dysfunction of Isaac and Rebecca’s family. I was telling the children how Jacob and Rebecca trick Isaac and then asked what that could do to them. A boy right in front of me shot his hand up and said, they’d get a divorce. I was stunned. And then three more hands slowly rose as each child in turn told me that their parents were divorced and what it was like for them. One little girl talked about how hard it was to see her mom because she lived in BC now. I didn’t know what to say. My heart was broken for these children.

Too young for such pain and yet so common. The wonder of God’s design smashed, but not beyond repair. In so many stories like these and the ones we read in scripture and the ones we are living today. There is much suffering, brokenness and disappointment. Is anyone here willing to say they’ve never suffered? And yet isn’t that often what fuels our search for beauty and wholeness?

I wonder what those shepherds so long ago were searching for. They say that shepherds were an outcast group in ancient Israel. Funny because so many heroes of Israel were shepherds: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David to name a few. Maybe this was another thing twisted. Maybe it came from the city folk who just didn’t like the smells and sounds. It doesn’t matter why, but it does illustrate an important theme in the story. God sends angels to tell regular working folk that the Promise has come. God sends his Glory to show that there is beauty and wonder and wholeness in the regular things of life. A baby being born, a humble home, honest work, family life all display the vibrant colours of God because of Jesus. Can we see it?

I watched a talk show the other day and a family received a trip to Disneyland. Because they deserved it. Deserved it? If we need Disneyland to see beauty and to know joy, then it’s an idol.

Jesus not Disney meets the quest for beauty in everyday things. In Jesus, how people see the world change. In Jesus, the senses we are born with explode with truer meaning and purpose. The world as we know it becomes rich and beauty emerges as God’s great gift that it is.

                Colours come alive

                Food has more flavour

                Sounds are richer

                Smells are deeper

                Textures have more texture, soft or hard, smooth or rough

Work has new meaning. Life has more joy because the dreariness and dullness are redeemed. The regular duties of the day become opportunities to celebrate. How else is it that so often those with so little know such joy when those with so much are often still so unhappy?

In the world as we know it, those who are in Christ get it. They see the lure and reject it for true beauty because they can see where the pockets of darkness yet remain. Places to avoid and places to confront. Places to share the good news; places to tell grade four students that their pain is real and won’t be forgotten.

Maybe the message for us today is that God’s beauty could be celebrated more often. Maybe it would be good for us to sit in front of a painting or to look out the window over the land for the sheer joy of its beauty. Or to listen to a song, a CD, a symphony – to just sit and listen, picking out each sound, instrument or word.  Just to be reminded of beauty and the God who blesses it.

For a sample there is a song posted on U-Tube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfODZKGxufE

 The theme is light coming into darkness; God keeping his promise. The picture all connect in some way to the story of God’s people. The artist is Michael Card, The Promise. Take some time to reflect in an artistic way the wonder of Jesus who brings light and beauty.