The Reasons Jesus Came

Dear friends,
It is a week before Christmas, and last night our school had the Christmas assembly. I don't ever feel "ready" for Christmas until that takes place. Seeing the little 5 year old angels singing Away in the Manger, and hearing the upper grades' beautiful voices blend together after so much hard work makes an unaccountable emotion rise up in me. It is the Holy Spirit glowing from one heart to another - the wonder of the Truth that is declared in song, and scripture, and poems that resonates in me. At the end of our assembly, we have a tradition of singing Silent Night in German, French, English, and Sign Language as our final song. I invite any alumni to join us up front. They come and often exchange hugs at seeing one another after long separations. We invite the audience to join us when we sing it in English. In this particular church, the seats are arranged in an oval, and last night I stood somewhat in the middle to conduct. The gorgeous sounds of sweet singing rang around me proclaiming the miracle of Jesus' birth that perfect Christmas day so long ago. I closed my eyes as I conducted, drinking in the sense that I was in heaven hearing praises sung to the Lord. After that verse, the piano quietly played the verse again while the children and I signed, and the stillness in that room completed the moment. I reveled in the gift that our Father in Heaven had given us. He gave us one another to love; he gave us His Spirit to unite our hearts and minds; he gave us His Son, so that we might be able to join him in bringing this world back to the way it was supposed to be.
I received this note in a Christmas card last year, and I have had it attached to my desk all year as a reminder. I would like to share it with you. It is for December 26th an on.
"When the song of the angels is stilled (of course that will never really be)
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner
to rebuild the nations
to bring peace among people
to make music in the heart."
The best news, though, is that we don't have to take responsibility for any of that. That is what Isaiah 61 says is the reason that Jesus came:
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good new to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year 0f the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."
And many scriptures remind us that the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. We simply get to go along for the ride. Amazing!

Merry Christmas everyone. In the words of Dr. Seuss,
"It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Chritmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.