The Fourth Sunday in Advent 2016

Today the sun shone brightly on the snow. Our Advent candles were dimmed by the brilliant light warming our windows, but the Advent Words of the Old Testament Prophets outshone the sun.

The promise of Jesus—

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting. (Micah 5:2)

The promise of His birth—
And of His rule—

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.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end, (See Isaiah 9: 6-7)

 

The promise of John the Baptist preparing Jesus way—

Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

The promise of His coming again in judgment—

But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD
An offering in righteousness. (Malachi 3:1-3)

The beautiful promise of His ancestry, His Spirit, His work, and His influence—

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
His delight is in the fear of the LORD,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.

Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:1-10)

The prophetic word that—

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the LORD’S house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (See Isaiah 2: 1-5)

Amazingly, this has happened. Many nations had traveled to Jerusalem for Passover the week He was crucified. Now, two centuries later, people from many nations once again go to Jerusalem to seek God. Let us hold fast to His promise that—

He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
O house of Jacob, come and let us walk
In the light of the LORD. (Isaiah 2: 1-5)

Let us discern the difference between feel-good media efforts to replace faith in God with faith in Santa Claus, elves, and Christmas wishes and know that getting ready for Christmas is about celebrating Jesus. Let us be assured that

Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth (Isaiah 40:4)

Yes,  Jesus government of peace has increased and continues to increase, but while injustice remains, God’s promise is only partially fulfilled. Advent recalls all of God’s Promises. It’s a time to ask God to fulfill His Word to bring His government, His peace, His judgment and justice to rule.

On that foundation, I spent most of my fourth Sunday in Advent writing a Christmas letter. Here it is:

Dear Friends and Family,

Our hearts are rich with contentment; I’ll try to share why. First off, it’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining doubly bright, intensified by brilliant snow on trees and fields. It’s 16 degrees out, but our house is cozily warm.

My husband, Ed is resting. He rests a lot these days. He’s becoming a hero, admired and beloved by all. He’s lost feeling in his feet and legs from peripheral neuropathy, but after several falls he taught himself to balance and walk without feedback from his feet. His doctor is surprised he’s not in a wheelchair. Despite dizziness, weakness and the fatigue of chronic anemia, his joy and good humor are constant. He judges and criticizes no one, but encourages and blesses all with unfailing good will. He keeps up with the news on NPR and CNN, reads a lot and followed the Chicago Cubs to victory with keen interest, excitement and joy.

Our gratitude keeps escalating. It began to rise in June. While traveling fifty-five miles per hour on a country blacktop, a maroon sedan at a one way stop pulled out right in front of me. A crash was unavoidable. I turned sharply to avoid a T-bone collision into the other driver. She hit my car on the right front and 180’d back across the road; I was slammed into the opposite bank. My car was totaled. I blacked out and opened my eyes on two miracles. No one in the sedan was injured and the car following too closely behind me avoided a three-car collision. That was only the beginning of gratitude.

I was and am so grateful that no one else was hurt. My own time recovering from a concussion and a compression fracture was rich with mercy and blessings. First off, family rallied round to help. They gave of themselves sacrificially. For weeks Bible Study friends brought meals. As I became stronger God sent two women to help us, both were gifts. They became our friends. I’m not 100% yet so one has stayed on and continues to help with whatever needs to be done. Ed and I are enriched by her generosity, kindness and support. But that is still just the beginning of gratitude.

Six days after the accident, constrained within a hard plastic back brace, I went home from the hospital. For several weeks my brain was too fuzzy to even think of household needs, do a Sudoku, read or watch TV. I couldn’t sit at a computer or piano or write in a journal. The trauma had upset my thyroid and endocrine system. I was always cold, slept day and night, and developed DVT from inactivity. But God never left me. I had lots and lots of time to pray. Gratitude for His goodness and His comforting, covering presence grew and grew.

Today, well into recovery, I don’t take painless hours and normal functioning for granted. I’m intensely grateful to move, to walk and to be mentally alive. Sure, my brain cells are dying off with age, but I’ve regained the focus and energy it takes to read and to write again. And, another miracle, TV and puzzles have lost the compulsive hold they had before the accident.

Ed and I are grateful for stability. Our lives have been repeatedly shaken and rocked but the ground beneath us has held. We continue to live in our own home with our own familiar routines. Since Ed is not able to travel, we are more than ever grateful for the friends and family who come to us—it’s a particular delight to keep up with the younger generation. We’re grateful for the telephone, texts, Skype and email to keep in touch with loved ones far away.

Against the background of this year’s political rudeness, we’re grateful for our memories of a different world— for the disciplines of our childhoods and the world of courtesy and restraint we grew up in. We’re glad to say please, thank you and you’re welcome to one another. Simple acts like letting the dog in and out, sweeping the floor and washing the dishes are gifts. Ed still insists on showing his love by washing the pots and pans, though many nights he has to sit down and build up energy to do it. Wiping the table and sweeping the floor can feel like acts of worship to me after being unable to stretch or reach for the salt shaker or bend down for a piece of paper dropped on the floor.

Life is a bit simpler than it used to be. Oh— we’ve still got all the “stuff” around us, but it’s not ruling us. Our lives are filled with purpose. First, there is so much to pray about. We used to think that the Scripture

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength,
they will mount up on wings like eagles. (Isaiah 40:31)

meant that waiting on God would make us physically stronger. Lately now, it seems like the strengths we’re getting are invisible ones, intangibles like more trust and faith in difficulties, more prayer, more courage, patience, gratitude and joy.

Our second purpose is my web page— givenwordnow.com.   Last December I put my writing in God’s hands, willing to relinquish it forever. Immediately the Lord sent encouraging friends and a fantastic colleague to set up and design a website for me. The site went live last spring. Despite months of inactivity after the accident, a small dribble of people continued to find it on the Internet. Now I’m writing more and uploading new texts almost weekly. Ed is my first reader and main supporter. Knowing that God is using two aging nobodies like Ed and me to reach out and encourage others via the Internet is humbling and encouraging. It’s an unexpected gift. No wonder our lives are rich with peace and our hearts are filled with contentment and joy.

Our final and greatest reason for gratitude and contentment is the gift Jesus, His Father and their gift of the Holy Spirit; our most vital purpose is learning to love God and others, to know Him, and to do His will as long as we live.

Celebrate His birth! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!