Christmas as comfort and consolation
"Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)
And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. (Luke 2:25)
It is cold this morning and we are not expecting to get out of the teens all day today. Our main entrance is closed today so I had to park and walk a rather longish distance to get into the building for my half day of work today. When I buzzed myself in I was immediately met by the warmth of the building that I will occupy for the next four hours or so. That warmth, in no small measure, brought physical comfort to me and sense of well-being to my heart. This is where I should be rather than "out there" in the snow and cold.
It is a rather fitting day for me to think of the comfort and consolation of both Israel and of me as a follower of Christ. I'll celebrate his birth tomorrow in a way that will mark that day as a day unlike any other. Now, God had planned this day before he ever created the world - that we know from the Bible. But, what this day became for shepherds, the surrounding towns, and who knows how many Magi was the announcement that their comfort and consolation had come. That which was only known by Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah was now trumpeted from the highest heaven - the wall that our sins built between us and our God will be removed by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of this boy.
Comfort and consolation indeed. The long, cold night of my exile was to end and it's end was now.
His sinless life earned him the right to die for my sins so that I would not have to die for my own sins. Forgiveness for my sins (which are too many) can be found in no other for he is the one that God the Father has appointed to bring the world back to himself.
This boy brought me life as only he could do and what do I have to give in return other than my life lived to bring him the praise he deserves for doing just that.
And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. (Luke 2:25)
It is cold this morning and we are not expecting to get out of the teens all day today. Our main entrance is closed today so I had to park and walk a rather longish distance to get into the building for my half day of work today. When I buzzed myself in I was immediately met by the warmth of the building that I will occupy for the next four hours or so. That warmth, in no small measure, brought physical comfort to me and sense of well-being to my heart. This is where I should be rather than "out there" in the snow and cold.
It is a rather fitting day for me to think of the comfort and consolation of both Israel and of me as a follower of Christ. I'll celebrate his birth tomorrow in a way that will mark that day as a day unlike any other. Now, God had planned this day before he ever created the world - that we know from the Bible. But, what this day became for shepherds, the surrounding towns, and who knows how many Magi was the announcement that their comfort and consolation had come. That which was only known by Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah was now trumpeted from the highest heaven - the wall that our sins built between us and our God will be removed by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of this boy.
Comfort and consolation indeed. The long, cold night of my exile was to end and it's end was now.
His sinless life earned him the right to die for my sins so that I would not have to die for my own sins. Forgiveness for my sins (which are too many) can be found in no other for he is the one that God the Father has appointed to bring the world back to himself.
This boy brought me life as only he could do and what do I have to give in return other than my life lived to bring him the praise he deserves for doing just that.
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