Praise the Lord
for this Friday. I spent my teen age years growing up in Orissa India. It is
currently the harvest season there. I recall the joy of the harvest season
when we gathered in the rice from the fields. The harvest was completed just
before Christmas. The greatest anticipation and joy of the season was the
celebration of Christmas. It was very simple yet it was profound and filled
great joy. They were colder days and yet the Glory of Christmas was shining
brightly and beautifully in the lives and the homes of those who celebrated the
birth of Jesus.
Living now in
New York, the Empire State, it is all beautiful and powerful. The December days
are cold, yet the anticipation of the celebration of the birth of Jesus our
Lord is filled with glow and wonder. Warmer than average temperatures are
forecast for the month of December here in the Northeastern USA. I love it. My
wife does not like warm weather for Christmas. I tell her that with holy
boldness, that this is about the Birthday of Jesus our Lord. If He does not
want snow this year for His birthday who are we to complain. (She replies that
if God wants snow for His Son's birthday, that is just fine, too.) I say, "God
Bless it". For me the joy and warmth of Christmas during cold December days
makes it a very special time of year. Try to imagine, if you can, a world
without Christmas. No Christmas trees, gifts, or visits to grandma’s house. No
carols, shopping or gathering with friends. No Grinch, Rudolph or Charlie Brown,
white Christmas, Miracle on the 34th Street, or Home Alone specials on the
television. None of those great Christmas movies…
Imagine if we lived in world that was always winter, but never Christmas (as in C. S. Lewis' great book, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" – there’d be no Christ! What if Jesus had never been born? What if He had never lived, taught, died and risen from the dead? What would the world be like? In Ephesians 2:12, Paul described a world without Christ, saying, “[Remember] that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
This is a pretty bleak picture. For a moment, ponder the weight of those words – “aliens from God’s people, strangers from His promises, no hope, without God in the world.” I don’t know if there could be any worse description of life than the two words “without hope.” It sounds like a land where it’s always winter, but never Christmas.
Each year, beginning on June 22, the number of minutes of sunlight we enjoy each day begins to shrink. From 15 hours and 2 minutes on that day, the time we have in the sun shrinks gradually until December 22, when we have only 9 hours and 20 minutes, but as we approach that shortest day, I find myself telling people around me, and reminding myself, that the days immediately start getting longer again – gradually building till that wonderful 15 hour day in June! We need that hope – that reminder that things will once again return to the warmth and light of summer!
I imagine a world with no hope. What if on December 23, the minutes of daylight kept getting fewer and scientists told us that it would never get better – no hope! Imagine the despair of being hope-less, of feeling there is no end to the misery, no light at the end of the tunnel – no reason or purpose to go on. That’s how the world would be with no Christmas – and it is the way the world is today without Christ.
Imagine if we lived in world that was always winter, but never Christmas (as in C. S. Lewis' great book, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" – there’d be no Christ! What if Jesus had never been born? What if He had never lived, taught, died and risen from the dead? What would the world be like? In Ephesians 2:12, Paul described a world without Christ, saying, “[Remember] that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
This is a pretty bleak picture. For a moment, ponder the weight of those words – “aliens from God’s people, strangers from His promises, no hope, without God in the world.” I don’t know if there could be any worse description of life than the two words “without hope.” It sounds like a land where it’s always winter, but never Christmas.
Each year, beginning on June 22, the number of minutes of sunlight we enjoy each day begins to shrink. From 15 hours and 2 minutes on that day, the time we have in the sun shrinks gradually until December 22, when we have only 9 hours and 20 minutes, but as we approach that shortest day, I find myself telling people around me, and reminding myself, that the days immediately start getting longer again – gradually building till that wonderful 15 hour day in June! We need that hope – that reminder that things will once again return to the warmth and light of summer!
I imagine a world with no hope. What if on December 23, the minutes of daylight kept getting fewer and scientists told us that it would never get better – no hope! Imagine the despair of being hope-less, of feeling there is no end to the misery, no light at the end of the tunnel – no reason or purpose to go on. That’s how the world would be with no Christmas – and it is the way the world is today without Christ.
One of my wife's
favorite books C.S. Lewis's "Chonicles of Narnia". Lewis intended Narnia to be
a picture of this world. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, the world was
placed under the curse of sin – Paul says in Romans
8
that all of creation has been placed under this curse, and “groans as if in the
pain of childbirth right up to this very time.” When sin entered the world, the
whole of the earth was plunged into darkness, separated from God, made alien to
Him, without His promise and without hope. The one who claims to be the ruler of this
world was Satan. To many he appears to be beautiful and powerful – a “White
Witch” if you will. The Bible describes him as an “angel of light” and “the
prince of the power of the air.” His goal is to keep the “sons of Adam” and
“daughters of Eve” in captivity- oppressed and in darkness – and to ultimately
destroy them. He knows that he can inflict the deepest wound on God by
destroying God’s greatest love – you.
You see, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" is actually a literary telling of the greatest love story every told. It is the epic battle between ultimate good and most horrible evil with the imprisonment and threatening of loved ones, and the fight and sacrifice of the lover to free them at any cost. It is, in short, the good news – the gospel. For awhile Narnia was a land where it was always winter, but never Christmas, but it was not a land without hope. The people of Narnia were waiting for the coming of the great Lion – ASLAN – who would take his rightful place on the throne, destroy the curse, and bring life to the desolate world. Aslan did come, and did the most unexpected things – .
In our lives , we may be feeling like we are stuck in perpetual winter, no Christmas…it’s cold, dark, gloomy and depressing. Worst of all, we may feel like there’s no hope. We may feel alien from God’s people, a stranger to His promises, without hope, and without Christ in the world. Praise the Lord sent the Good News in the person of Jesus Christ. This is wonderful news! Christmas came! There is hope – not just that the days will get longer as we move toward June of next year – but that we can have life – a life free from guilt and shame – a life that is filled with the light of Jesus – a life where the dark cold of isolation breaks into the warm fellowship of love. May " Aslan" fill us with a great and holy anticipation. We anticipate best, and the best is yet to come.
You see, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" is actually a literary telling of the greatest love story every told. It is the epic battle between ultimate good and most horrible evil with the imprisonment and threatening of loved ones, and the fight and sacrifice of the lover to free them at any cost. It is, in short, the good news – the gospel. For awhile Narnia was a land where it was always winter, but never Christmas, but it was not a land without hope. The people of Narnia were waiting for the coming of the great Lion – ASLAN – who would take his rightful place on the throne, destroy the curse, and bring life to the desolate world. Aslan did come, and did the most unexpected things – .
In our lives , we may be feeling like we are stuck in perpetual winter, no Christmas…it’s cold, dark, gloomy and depressing. Worst of all, we may feel like there’s no hope. We may feel alien from God’s people, a stranger to His promises, without hope, and without Christ in the world. Praise the Lord sent the Good News in the person of Jesus Christ. This is wonderful news! Christmas came! There is hope – not just that the days will get longer as we move toward June of next year – but that we can have life – a life free from guilt and shame – a life that is filled with the light of Jesus – a life where the dark cold of isolation breaks into the warm fellowship of love. May " Aslan" fill us with a great and holy anticipation. We anticipate best, and the best is yet to come.
In Jesus our Lord..
the Christ of Christmas. He reigns and He Rules.
In Jesus
,
Brown
The Advent wreath is an increasingly popular symbol of the
beginning of the Church year in many churches as well as homes.
