Christmas Day
Scripture Reading for Today:
Sought Out and Not Forsaken
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.
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