Third Thursday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Not Just a Message but a Presence
by Stephen Bedard
Essential to any meaningful relationship is ongoing communication. We know this on an instinctive level. This is especially true of a parent-child relationship. Parents listen intently for that first word and look forward to the time when their child can communicate their needs with words rather than tantrums.
Like most parents, we anticipated the time when we could have real conversations with our children. Even after our first two children were diagnosed with autism and they were demonstrating developmental delays, our desire to hear them speak never diminished. However, there were significant challenges to our plan. While our daughter never had more than the most basic vocabulary as a child, our son seemed to be at the appropriate level for verbal communication. It was devastating as we watched him regress until all of his words were gone.
That is not to say that we had given up hope. We were told by the experts that it was likely that they would become verbal and that it would only be delayed by a few years. Between our prayers and the intensive therapy, we were sure that one day they would speak to us. I looked forward to sitting with my children and talking to them about their hopes and dreams for life. Today, as they are both in their twenties, they are still only minimally verbal and most of their spoken language is taken from movies and television shows. Although we do not grieve that they have autism, we have grieved the loss of this particular hope.
That is not to say that there is no meaningful communication. We have learned to communicate with each other through physical presence. Just recently, I saw my son at his group home for the first time in a number of months. I planned it as a surprise and the moment that I walked in the door, my son jumped out of his chair, ran across the room, and gave me a hug. Communication was clear with no words needed.
This makes me think of one of my favourite Christmas Bible passages that is not traditionally connected with Christmas. Hebrews 1:1-4 tells us that God had been in the habit of communicating with God’s people, usually through the prophets. These were verbal messages given to humans by God. They were of great value but it was generally thought that the time of the prophets was over and that God was silent. Would God ever speak again and if so, what form would that take? Would it be a new prophet or a new set of laws?
The author of Hebrews tells us that God had planned to communicate once more, but this time not through the words of the prophets. Instead of a verbal message, God was going to communicate through physical presence, through the coming of Jesus. John 1:14 describes the same event as “the word made flesh.” We call this the incarnation. Jesus is Emmanuel—God with us.
Jesus was not just another prophet or a religious teacher with some interesting ideas. Jesus was both fully God and fully human. This was not like the fleeting theophanies of the Old Testament. In Jesus, God went through the entire human experience from birth to death. While Jesus did teach with words, all that he did was done in the context of presence. Jesus built a community in which he could experience life together with his disciples.
We can understand how this worked for those few years of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but what does this mean for us who live after Jesus’ ascension to heaven? In Matthew 28:20, some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples were “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus is still present with us, even while he is at the right hand of the Father.
Jesus is with us when we worship and
when we pray and
when we come to his table.
Jesus is with us when we fight for justice and
when we advocate for the marginalized and
when we treat each other with love.
None of this is meant to diminish the value of the Bible as Christian Scripture. The Bible should be read and meditated on. The Bible helps to shape us into the image of Christ. We value the written words of God, but we embrace them because they point us to the living Word of God who desires to be present with us.
The most beautiful part of the Advent season is the recognition that God communicates with us not just with a message but with a presence. Verbal communication is good and we are thankful for the words of the prophets. But the incarnation is like God jumping off the chair, running across the room, and giving us a hug. Communication is clear.
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