Advent 2: Baby

Scripture:

"The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be pregnant." (Isaiah 7:14)

Song: Mary, Did You Know?

This is perhaps the most insane and offensive part of the Christmas message: all of history was waiting for the arrival of a tiny, fragile, helpless baby. A child who, like any other child, would be absolutely dependant on his mum, who would wake up screaming and crying in the middle of the night, who would need his nappies changed, who would need feeding and bathing and loving. In the midst of our tinselly nativities it is easy to forget that Jesus was like any other new-born: red-faced, wrinkly and crying out for love.

Our God is a strange God. The birth of a baby seems like the most ridiculous way to start a plan to save the world, but it is the birth of this baby that we are about the celebrate. It is the birth of this baby that all of history hinges upon. God's Son was born in an obscure, forgotten part of the world to a teenage Mum. He was born into poverty and scandal. 

Let us not gloss over the mess of that first Christmas this Advent: Our God is a God who embraces mess - his plan to save humans started by becoming one.

Reflection:

Think about the smallest baby you've ever held. Think about how totally vulnerable and helpless he or she was.

Ask God why he chose to become a tiny baby: What did he want to show us by choosing to come into the world not as some great hero or warrior but as a child?

Thank God that he doesn't do things in the way we expect.

Advent 1: Waiting

Scripture: 

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)

Song: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Advent is a season of waiting, of expectation, of longing and hoping.

In many ways, it is a painful season: a realisation of prayers unanswered, of plans gone wrong, of hopes unfulfilled, of waiting for what hasn't happened yet.

This year, Advent feels more poignant than ever. We are all waiting. We are all longing for life to be different to what is it now. We are waiting for an end to lockdown. Waiting for a vaccine. Waiting to hug loved ones. Waiting for financial stability.

In the story of the Bible, there is a lot of waiting. There is this awkward, painful pause between the Old and New Testaments where God’s people are left waiting. Waiting to see if God really will keep his promises to them. Waiting to see if the One promised by the prophets will ever finally come. Waiting to see if God is really there or if He’s forgotten about them.

For those who follow Jesus, Advent is the season in which we remember that Jesus is the One we waited for. He is the One that all of history waited for. The hope of humanity is met in Him.

This year, The Church of England is focusing its Christmas message on the words from a rather obscure hymn: “God rest ye merry gentlemen.” It rarely makes the cut for carol services, but the refrain of the chorus is a powerful reminder of what it is that we celebrate at Christmas time: “Good tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, good tidings of comfort and joy.” 

Comfort and joy. Was there ever a time when such things were more needed?

And yet, Jesus is the bringer of both. The tidings that accompany his birth are full of comfort and joy. 

To accompany our Advent Series at Christ Church, each weekday during Advent I’m going to write a short reflection on the object of these good tidings: Jesus, the Waited-For One, the One in whom “the hopes and fears of all the years are met."