Christmas Day
Scripture Reading for Today:
Isaiah 62:6-12
6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. 8 The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled; 9 but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.” 10 Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations. 11 The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.’” 12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
Psalm 97
1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. 2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. 4 His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory. 7 All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols— worship him, all you gods! 8 Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, Lord. 9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. 10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 11 Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.
Titus 3:4-7
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
NIV
Sought Out and Not Forsaken
Jared Siebert serves in many capacities in the Canadian Church. He founded an organization of missionary church leaders called the New Leaf Network and is one of Canada’s leading inter-denominational church planter trainers. But church planting isn’t the only kind of experience he has garnered. In his ministry roles Jared has had the opportunity to work with churches of all kinds from all over Canada. He has acted as a consultant in churches large and small, urban and rural, and new and long established. He has written a discipleship curriculum, a handbook on church planter training, and a Church Health workbook called the LifePlan. As a sought after speaker and consultant Jared is uniquely able to draw insight and inspiration from a variety of sources and bring that to the table as he helps churches move toward unity and the mission of God.
As the scene opens, in Luke 2, there are no indications that tonight would be unlike any other night. The ones keeping watch are not an elite military unit or a secretive spy agency. Just an ordinary group of shepherds pulling another night shift.
For the shepherds, the dream of Isaiah — that Jerusalem would be restored to her former glory — was ancient history. But they would have resonated with his longing. Isaiah, in his time, watched helplessly as the city of Jerusalem was renamed things like “Desolate” and “Forsaken.” Things had gotten really bad. Isaiah pleaded with his people to keep watch over the city, to take no rest, and to give God no rest until the city was healed. Until it could be renamed “Sought Out and not Forsaken.” Isaiah envisioned a day when the people would once again enjoy the fruit of their own labours and land. A day when they no longer worked for the sole benefit of their captors. That dream of course did become a reality. After the exile. The city and temple got rebuilt. The people resettled the land and were once again able to enjoy all that the land had to offer. Jerusalem was a once great place to live! But that story, like all stories caught up in the Big Story, was not the final chapter. This good and life-giving land would be conquered and reconquered. Again and again. Dreams become reality. Nightmares unfold.
On this night, so much like the thousands that preceded it, there was no need for keeping watch over the city. The enemies were already inside the gates. They had been for several lifetimes. And yet tonight would be no ordinary night. The land of Israel was about to be invaded once again.
The page of the Big Story turned. God was stretching out His mighty hand. His plan? A mysterious upheaval in “the way things work.”
It was the end of business as usual.
The thoughts and plans of the proud? Scattered.
The powerful on their thrones? Brought down.
The lowly? Raised up.
The hungry? Filled.
The rich? Sent away empty.
God’s ancient promises? The dreaming of prophets? Fulfilled.
On this night, God himself was entering into the middle of the tensions of our tiny planet. Ignoring the rich and powerful and revealing himself first to the poor, the weak, and the outsider. What kind of Messiah chooses to announce himself first to shepherds? What kind of Messiah chooses to be born in a stable, to young parents, in a backwater town, and among conquered and powerless people? We now know, of course, that these were all signs pointing to the kind of kingdom God was establishing. A kingdom that is a deep rewrite of the world’s story. A rewrite that unveils the Big Story. Neither the shepherds nor these young parents fully comprehended what they were witnessing, giving birth to, and caring for.
So here I sit, friend. Christmas Day 2021: still caught in the reverberations of these stories. These hopes. These fears. Compressions and rarefactions of darkness and light still move across the land. For nearly two years, an enemy has been changing the name of my city. It’s now called “At War with Itself” and “Chaos.” This enemy ravages the bodies of the poor, the old, the immunocompromised, the weakened, and disproportionately those that fall under the spell of misinformation. This enemy has torn huge holes in our social fabric. And it has revealed them.
What do we now see?
The thoughts and plans of the proud? Gathered and focused.
The powerful on their thrones? Still seated.
The lowly? Held down.
The hungry? Empty.
The rich? Making off like bandits.
God’s ancient promises? The dreaming of prophets? Not yet fulfilled.
Just another night shift on planet earth right?
Yes.
Here in this city, I live in between the grand arcs of darkness and light. In prayer today, I stand on the city walls with Isaiah willing myself — willing anyone who will join me — to “take no rest” and to “give the Lord no rest” this city has a better name. In the middle of it all, I’ve got sheep to tend. I’ve got watches to keep. Sleep to fight off.
Just another night shift on planet earth right?
No.
The angel’s announcement is in the rearview mirror, friends. Ancient history. Our story is contained in a new chapter. A chapter that starts with an arrival and ends with a return. In our chapter, we live alongside the “with-ness” of God. God is with us. God is leading and guiding. God is enlivening and empowering. God is shaping and molding. God is birthing a new kind of community made up of new kinds of people.
The thoughts and plans of the proud? Those schemes don’t make sense among us. They don’t fit. They don’t work. They are like Saul’s armour. Big and clunky.
The powerful on their thrones? They find themselves in the cheap seats. If they sit down at all.
The lowly? We lift them up. We’re family. We all belong around God’s table.
The hungry? They are filled. We share what we have.
The rich? Some count the costs and don’t join in. Others know what this kingdom is worth and spend themselves in enthusiastic generosity.
God’s ancient promises? The dreaming of prophets? Not yet fulfilled. But every day we see tiny signs of light and life. We make tiny cracks in everything with good trouble and healing mischief. We live in hope. We have a sacred fire that we gather around. Regularly. It drives off the cold. It drives off the dark. And it makes it bearable as we await the final turning of the page.
Thank you for reading the New Leaf Advent Reader, a collection of reflections from writers across Canada. If you are enjoying the reader, sign up to receive the readings in your inbox each day here: SIGN UP
And please share this reflection with your friends and family who might also enjoy it.
