²⁵ He spoke, and the winds rose,
    stirring up the waves.
²⁶ Their ships were tossed to the heavens
    and plunged again to the depths;
    the sailors cringed in terror.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards
    and were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁹ He calmed the storm to a whisper
    and stilled the waves.
³⁰ What a blessing was that stillness
    as he brought them safely into harbor!
³¹ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them. – Psalm 107:25-31

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” – Mark 4:35-41

The disciples of Jesus were frightened for their lives.  Their question is honest and desperate:“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  The fear in their hearts and the urgency of the question have a powerful resonance just now.  A tiny virus we can’t even see has brought our nation and much of the world to a standstill. The coronavirus has yet to hit here in Idaho with full force, but I believe our governor, Brad Little, has done exactly the right thing in asking us to stay home except for essential needs. This is very real.  A pastor friend of mine in Sacramento is ill with COVID-19, and two members of his church have died.  The storm is real. 

The truth is we live storm-tossed lives.  Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation.”  What is unique in this moment is we’re all facing the same storm together, all in the same boat, you might say.   And as the waves come at us, one after another, the question of these frightened disciples resonates in our hearts: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  Do you care, Lord?  We can face the wind and waves, we can face sickness and even death, if we know you care.

They called Jesus teacher,and he is teaching here.  He responded to their question with a question of his ownthat puts the whole struggle in a new light.  He said, “Why are you so afraid?  Have you still no faith?”  In the long run, the problem of fear is a problem of faith. We do well right now to let Jesus ask us, why are you afraid?  It’s not asked unkindly.  Jesus is always up to something good.  Let’s look at the details of the story.

V. 35 begins, “On that day, when evening had come,Jesus said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’”  It was the end of a long day of public ministry, and Jesus was exhausted.  They set out in their boat across the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, leaving the region of Galilee which was Jewish, and going to the other side of the lake, which was mostly gentile and pagan.  Mark says they took Jesus in the boat just as he was, indicating how tired he was and why he fell asleep so quickly.

Somehow, it’s helpful to see Jesus exhausted, unable to keep his eyes open.  Think of the doctors and nurses on the front lines of the epidemic, how exhausted they must be.  We’re all tired right now.  Making it through a day can feel like a major accomplishment.  So, it’s encouraging to see Christ dealt with weariness and exhaustion. Hebrews 4:5 comes to mind: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness.”  He knows what it is to be human.  He went through every human condition, subject to every human pressure, even such a simple thing as being tired at the end of a long day.  Remember that in Jesus you have a High Priest who will minister to you with sympathy and understanding.

Then came a 911 emergency. Vs. 37 says,“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.”  The Sea of Galilee is large, about sixty-four square miles.  (By comparison, Payette Lake at McCall, Idaho, is about eight square miles.)  The Sea of Galilee is in a valley, between hills on each side that form a sort of giant wind tunnel.  I’ve been there once.  It was cold and the wind howled the whole time.  At certain times of the year, storms can be especially treacherous when cold winds blow down from the Golan Heights, and meet warm air rising from the water.  This was a severe storm, and all the more dangerous because it was at night.  Isn’t everything more frightening in the dark? They are far from shore, and the boat was filling with water.  They were in real and present danger.  

But I wonder, when the disciples awakened Jesus and said,“Don’t you care that we’re about to die?”, was there really nothing theycould have done?  Remember, that question was their fear talking, not their faith. Were these the most extreme conditions these experienced fishermen had ever seen on those waters?  Did they really have nowhere to turn, nothing they could have done?  

I think they’re acting in fear, not in faith.  Fear has a way of taking any threat and magnifying it so that it fills our field of vision.  I think this because the disciples were a lot like you and me.  I know it doesn’t take much of a threat for my heart and mind to go to the worst possible outcome.  Fear has a way of gripping the heart and filling the mind in a way that pushes faith right out.  I also know that fear makes people say irrational and sarcastic things. Things like, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  That’s the question of a desperate and fearful heart. 

Notice that Jesus was never worried about the Big Bad Storm.  When he was awakened, he wasn’t shaken by the wind and waves.  He rebuked the storm the same way a good teacher would rebuke a child who was being loud and disruptive in class.  He said, “Peace!  Be still!” Literally in the Greek it’s, “Quiet!  Be muzzled and stay muzzled!”  He was pushing back the danger, and also calming the noise and confusion.  Jesus treated the storm as a difficult challenge, a demanding set of circumstances, but not as an out-of-control death spiral. (Once again, it’s human for our hearts and minds to imagine the worst possible outcome.  By saying this, I don’t want to minimize COVID-19 at all.  The threat is real, and right now staying home is the right thing to do.) 

This was a hard storm, and the threat to the disciples was real.  But rather than grab Jesus, and accuse him of not caring, they had an opportunity to show maturity and leadership.  They had an opportunity, in other words, to show faith.  Faith means taking everything to Jesus, but it does not mean we let fear consume us and demand of Jesus that he make the problem go away.  It doesn’t mean we accuse him of not caring.  Faith, in this instance, could very well mean trusting that Jesus is with them, staying calm, bailing out the boat, working together, rowing toward shore, and relying on the other boats if they start to sink.  They had an opportunity to trust Jesus and strengthen each other under trying circumstances.  In other words, faith was called for.  But instead they panicked, and questioned Jesus in a way that was really an accusation: Do you not care that we are perishing?   

New Christian believers sometimes have the mistaken notion that coming to Christ means the end of life’s troubles.  And for many, at the beginning of their journey with Christ, there is wonderful provision!  Doors open at the right time, the sun comes out just when the clouds were gathering, and God seems to answer every prayer.  Possibilities abound.  Then the storm strikes.  And that’s when the journey to maturity in Christ begins.  Maturity comes from trusting God when there is no discernable evidence of his presence.  Storms are the school in which we learn faith.  And getting overwhelmed and controlled by fear is one indicator of how much we have left to learn.  

But it’s not danger, or even the prospect of death that we fear most.  Our deepest fears are about eternity and the character of God.  The disciples had placed their ultimate hope in Jesus Christ. They’ve seen him heal with mighty power; seen him release sufferers from the power of demons; heard him tell truths no one ever spoke before; they saw in him a Spirit-given intimacy with God they had no experience with; they had seen him challenge empty and hypocritical religion, and boldly declare the love of God.

Now he’s asleep in their hour of crisis.  I don’t think the deepest fear is that we might die.  The deepest fear is; what if he’s not who he claims to be? What if he can’t follow through? Or worse, what if he’s powerful and just doesn’t care?  

Friends, I have trusted my life to Jesus Christ who lived and died and rose again,and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and who will return in power and glory.  I would be shaken to the core if these things turned out not to be true. But God’s dependable Word, and the experience of my own life – and many others – have shown me two things:  1) The boat won’t sink, and 2) The storm won’t last forever.

The boat won’t sink.  Jesus Christ keeps his promises.  He won’t sink.  The gospel won’t sink.  You can put the whole weight of your life on Jesus Christ.  He will supply everything you need in every circumstance.  Body and soul, in life and in death, we belong to him.  

The storm won’t last forever.  In this world you will have tribulation, said Jesus.  He is so realistic.  But the end of the story is not more suffering.  At the end of the story is glory, joy, the welcome and approval of God our Father, being made like Christ, the end of evil, the victory of God.  In this hope we press on with confidence and joy.

Three things in Mark’s account are described as great.  First, there was a great windstorm.  Second, there was a great calm after Jesus said, “Peace!  Be still.” Third, the disciples had great fear.  The surprising thing is this great fear came after the great calm.  With great fear the disciples said, “Who is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?” They’re awestruck because, being good Jews, they know there is only One who commands the wind and sea, there is only One who commands the forces of nature, viruses included.  

Dear believer, he’s in your boat, and he says,“Peace!  Be still!” Because of him, the boat won’t sink, and the storm won’t go on forever.  Now, what is he calling you to do?  

Amen.  

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to   a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!   But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  (Luke 1:26-29, ESV)

Since the Reformation of the 16^thcentury, we protestants have been so eager to avoid the veneration of Mary that perhaps we’ve overlooked the remarkable qualities of this young woman, and why God chose her to be the mother of the Son of God.  We often hold up men of the Bible as role models of faith.  Why not Mary?

A quality that consistently shines through in Mary is her humility.  She does not place herself or her plans first.  God is first in her life.  God’s will is of higher priority than her own plans.  God’s will comes before her reputation.  God’s calling comes first for her because she trusts in the goodness of God through any circumstance – even a pregnancy that comes not in her timing and not as a young girl would dream for herself.

Gabriel said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  The exalted salutation troubled her.  Why should she be addressed this way?  It’s been said the truly great saints do not know they are saints.  In Isaiah 57:15 we read, Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit…”  When Gabriel explained to Mary what would happen, how she would conceive a child as an unmarried virgin at the risk of her reputation and possibly even her life, her reflex response is not a protest, but simply, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)

Living as we do in a time when the moral scourge of abortion on demand rules our society, I wonder if we can truly imagine – especially we men – what it meant for this teenage girl to be told by God she would be blessed with a child not by her choice and not in her time.  Could any of us accept that?  Only the humble could.  Only those who know they are not their own.  Only those willing to set self aside and say,I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to be according to your word. 

 Psalm 123 says, As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God.  You may be facing grave difficulty right now.  Perhaps your marriage is coming apart or your career off-track.  Maybe your health is gone, or the health of someone you love.  Perhaps you’ve lost a loved one and wonder how you can go on.  Mary’s word to us is that God may call you to trust him through something that seems at first to be the worst thing that could have happened to you. Mary would tell us to trust in the Lord. She knows that her future, her reputation, her very life is not her own but her Master’s, and so she is free to let go and let God work a miracle in her life.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  Send your Holy Spirit into my heart.  Break my pride and self-will.  Give me humility to receive what life brings as from your hand, as opportunity to trust you more and serve you faithfully.  Give me an obedient heart like Mary.  Give me ears to hear your Word.  Amen. 

And the angel answered [Mary], “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.  . . For nothing will be impossible with God.”  And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:35-38, ESV)

Mary is so young – perhaps 14 or 15.  But God once chose a boy named David to be king of Israel over his strapping, mature older brothers.  The old prophet Samuel said, “The Lord sees not as a man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:1-13).

What did God see in the heart of Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God?  I make no pretense of having God’s perspective, but in her brief encounter with the angel Gabriel there are qualities that shine in this remarkable young woman.  The first is that Mary has ears to hear the Word of God.  She is receptive.

It’s often said that it’s harder to hear God today, that our modern distractions and entertainments drown out His voice, but I’m not sure it’s any harder to hear God now than it ever has been.  The truth is we don’t hear God because we’re not listening.  On the night Jesus was born the sky was filled with angels bellowing at the top of their lungs, but only a few shepherds took notice.  The vast majority went right on sleeping through the silent night.

Medieval artists portrayed this quality in Mary by depicting the impregnating Holy Spirit entering her body through her ear.  This seems strange to modern eyes, but the artists had a serious theological point. The Bible says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).   Faith is not something we initiate; it is given by God, but we must be receptive.  Mary showed her faith in her receptivity to God’s Word; she was open to what God would say and do.

The same is true of anyone who would receive Christ today.  We don’t control Him.  Listening is passive.  When God speaks into our lives it is something that happens to us.  The virgin birth means Jesus was born by God’s initiative, and it is the same today if we would receive Jesus into our hearts.  The only thing we can do is be still and open ourselves to listen and trust. We cannot compel God any more than we can catch sunlight in a sack.  We cannot give ourselves new life.  We can only receive it.

I pray for you this year a very Mary Christmas.  Be like Mary. In Jesus Christ, God came to speak his love and grace into your life.  Are you listening?

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  By your Holy Spirit, give me ears to hear your Word.  Give me a faith like Mary, to be still and know that you are God.  Give me eyes and ears to see and hear you in your written Word.  Amen. 

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:26-28, ESV)

It’s like a favorite old easy-chair, this story of Gabriel’s visit to Mary.  It’s soft and comfortable and so familiar that perhaps we don’t look close any more.  It’s just another piece of the Christmas furniture.

It was anything but comfortable for peasant girl named Mary.  She was 16 at most, possibly as young as 14.  The angel Gabriel himself came calling to say that she was going to be the mother of the Son of God.  She was innocent, but not naïve. She said, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (1:34). Gabriel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God . . . for nothing will be impossible with God.” (1:35-37)

Nothing is impossible for God, but that was a small part of the problem as far as Mary was concerned. How would she explain it to Joseph? What would her family say?  The people of the village would be outraged. Adultery was punishable by death, and though that harsh penalty was rarely exacted, it certainly meant shame and dishonor that would follow her for years to come.

But Mary shows right away at least part of the reason she was chosen for this most honored position. God was taking the initiative, and as far as she was concerned, the consequences were in His hands.  She said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (1:38).  That’s not mere acceptance of the inevitable.  It’s raw courage.

In the old King James translation, Gabriel greets Mary with,“Hail, thou that art highly favored…”  In case you missed it, Gabriel – an archangel! – is addressing this teenage girl with honor. We protestants get nervous about this, but let’s give Mary her due.  When her life was interrupted and upended by a gift and calling she didn’t choose, she makes one of the most powerful declarations of faith in all of Scripture: I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.  May we have such faith.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  By your Holy Spirit, give me a faith like Mary.  Help me to accept what you bring into my life not as burden, but as opportunity to trust you more and live for your glory.  I am your servant; let it be to me according to your word.  Open my eyes to see you in your written Word. Amen. 

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. (Luke 2:1-5, ESV)

The very Son of God was born into this world.  God became human.  It was the biggest event in world history, and the people that stayed put missed it. 

Notice first those that made it to the manger.  Mary and Joseph had to travel all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  That’s about 90 miles, on foot, and Mary pregnant. The shepherds were away from home, out in the fields when the angels came, and then had to run into Bethlehem. Finally, a few years later, foreign wise men travelled from a far country, had to stop for directions along the way, and finally found the house in Bethlehem.

Notice who missed it. Caesar Augustus was home in Rome issuing decrees.  Quirinius, the governor of Syria, apparently also had to stay close to the office with many important things to do.  King Herod was too busy to come, even though he’s heard about the birth.  The religious big-shots, ever loyal to Herod, stayed home and missed the miracle.  (They probably had a committee meeting.)  All the people that turned Mary and Joseph away and said “no room” missed the miracle that happened in their back yard.  Maybe they were too busy shopping and putting up the tree.

It’s always more comfortable to stay put.  You may know the story by heart.  You may even, on an intellectual level, believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world.  It’s possible to know this truth, and still stay put, holding on to control of your life, filling your life with busyness and worldly things.  When the only thing that matters is to come to the manger, surrender your life to Him, and worship Him as Lord of all.

If you want to meet Jesus personally, you have to leave home.  Not physically, but spiritually.  If you think you’re in a comfortable place with no need of a Savior, you’re kidding yourself.  The road to Bethlehem – the road to Jesus Christ – is repentance and confession. Stop, turn, and move toward the Lord. Be honest about who you are, admit to Him that you cannot get your own life to the place you know you need to be. When we confess and repent, then our hearts are open to the forgiving grace of the Savior, the only one who can get us to the right place in life.  You’ll never regret the trip.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  By your Holy Spirit, help me to walk away from my self-satisfied comfort.  Make me restless until I rest in you. I confess my sin and my need. Reveal yourself to me in your written Word.  Amen. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life,and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . full of grace and truth.  (John 1:1-5,14 ESV)

These are surely among the most profound and earth-shaking words ever written.  The coming of Jesus Christ means we no longer have to cope as best we can in a dark world.  We don’t face the prospect of life without purpose or hope.  Our families don’t have to hang together by a fraying thread.  The world is not on its own against the threats of evil, injustice, darkness and despair.  A Savior has come into the world.  This is the Christian gospel – the good news.  The light has come, and darkness cannot overcome it.  God’s light, shining in Jesus Christ, is stronger than the darkness.  The world’s story, and our story, are moving to God’s good fulfillment.  That’s why Jesus came.  That is his mission.

Now to your mission. After introducing Jesus Christ (the Word), the very next line of John’s Gospel says, There was a man sent from God, whose name was John (1:6). He was talking about John the Baptist, who came to point people to Jesus.  But the text might just as easily say, “There was a man sent from God named Scott, or George, or Dave.  There was a woman sent from God named Becky, or Sally, or Ruth.” Just fill your name into the blank.

The arrival of Jesus in the world was not an accident.  It was planned in the heart of God from all eternity.  And just as Jesus was not accident, neither are you.  God has a sacred mission for your life.  You and I have a critical role to play in the drama of God’s saving love for the world.  We may not always understand the drama.  And you may find yourself in a dark chapter today.  But that is only because the story is not yet over.  God’s light will shine in the end.

Your God-given mission, like John the Baptist’s, is to testify to the light of Jesus Christ. Point others to Him.  That is the real purpose behind your life as a student, homemaker, employee, manager, parent, grand-parent, volunteer, or retiree. God has given you these roles as opportunities to shine His light.  Thankfully, we don’t have to generate the light.  It’s His.  Let it shine.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  Shine the light of your truth and grace in the darkness of the world, and in the darkness of my heart.  Empower me by your Holy Spirit, that your light will shine in my life, so that others may find the way to you.  Reveal yourself to me in your written Word.  Amen. 

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.  And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit…”  (Luke 1:39-41, ESV)

Modern medical science tells us something I suspect mothers have always known, that little ones in the womb hear and recognize voices.  They hear their mother’s heartbeat and surely know when mom’s heart skips a beat.  It should come as no surprise then, that little John the Baptist, still in the pre-natal waters of Elizabeth’s womb, jumped for joy when he heard the voice of Mary.  But there’s more going on here.  Mary is carrying Jesus in her womb, and in a moment charged with the Holy Spirit, little John has already started to fulfill his calling, pointing to Jesus and jumping for joy.  Jesus was coming into the world, and even before he was born, the only proper response was joy.

Children are good at receiving.  On Christmas morning they open their gifts and leap with pure unmixed joy.  We adults, not so much.  We’ve had it drummed into us that the “real” joy of Christmas is giving.  We give and give and give, and then wonder where the joy went.  So, I want to challenge you with this truth: the children have it right.  Christmas is about receiving.  Jesus was born into the world as pure gift.  The only thing for us to do is receive Him with joy and gratitude.

Advent is a time to become children again.  There’s still time.  We’re about to celebrate the birth of our Savior who came as pure gift to undeserving people.  There’s nothing we can do to earn his presence, nothing we can give to repay God for such a gift.  Remember the words of Jesus: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3), and Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).

This Advent, drop the adult pretense of self-sufficiency and control.  Allow yourself to become child-like.  Christ was born into the world as God’s pure gift for those who will only receive Him.    Jesus said, These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). That’s something to leap about.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  Ready my spirit to receive you this day.  By your Holy Spirit, help me to become as a child and welcome you with unmixed joy. Reveal yourself to me in your written Word.  Amen. 

John answered them all saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”  (Luke 3:16, ESV)

If there’s one thing we Americans believe in, it’s equality.  It’s in our founding creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . .”  We may not always live up to it, but our ideal is that every person stands equal with every other.  It’s why we’ve always rejected European notions of nobility and aristocracy.  Americans don’t bow or curtsy, even to those in high office.  We hold our heads up, side-by-side, as equals.  So, if I may be so bold, there’s something distinctly un-American about the gospel.

The Christ whose birth we celebrate at Christmas comes to us humbly as one of us, but emphatically not as our equal.  He is infinitely more graceful, more powerful, more worthy than we are.  Next to him, well, we’re not worthy to stoop down and tie his shoes.  John the Baptist got this right, and so must we if we would prepare for Christ’s coming. John wasn’t putting himself down, he was lifting Christ up as he who is mightier than I. 

 To borrow a phrase from Mark Twain, the difference between Jesus and John the Baptist was the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.  John baptized with water, and it was powerful.  But John prophesied of Jesus: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”  And the great surprise of the gospel is that He will give his Holy Spirit not to the high and mighty, but to the lowly and humble who will receive Him.  It’s as if the King stopped his carriage to get out and embrace street urchins and say, “You are my lost children.  I will fill you with my spirit.  Come and live with me.”  The coming of Christ is our coming into true manhood and womanhood, children of our heavenly Father through the indwelling of His Spirit.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  You are mightier than I, so far above me that I am not worthy to stoop down and untie your sandals.  Yet, you have come low to serve me, and even to wash my feet.  Humble my proud heart, Lord Jesus, that I might welcome you and receive your Holy Spirit.  Show me how you are at work in the world so that I might serve you better.  Show yourself to me in your written Word.  Amen. 

 

“Therefore, stay awake – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the cock crows, or in the morning – lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.  And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!”– Jesus (Mark 13:35-37, ESV)

Advent is a time not only to remember the first coming of Jesus Christ into the world, but also a time to fix our hope on His future coming in power and great glory.  Christian hope in anchored in the past and set on the future. We are a people of hope because Jesus promised he will return to draw history to a close in God’s good time and in God’s good way.  As Billy Graham liked to say, “I’ve read the back of the book.  Christ wins!”  But this hope can never mean we think only of tomorrow and neglect today.

In the fall of 1939, as the clouds of WW2 hung over Europe, C.S. Lewis gave a lecture at Oxford University that he titled “Learning in Wartime.”  He might have called it “Contemplating the End of the World.” The young students who came to hear Lewis speak that evening were no doubt worried about the future.  Western Civilization itself was threatened by the War that had begun that September when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.  Many Oxford students wondered if they should even continue their education.  There was much speculation among Christians that Hitler may be the “Anti-Christ” spoken of in the Bible, and history may be drawing to a close.  Some wondered what good there was in studying literature, engineering, medicine or philosophy when there may not be a future at all.  Lewis, a wise Christian who knew the horror of war – he was terribly wounded in the First World War – squarely faced these questions.

Here’s part of what he said to the young students:

“You would be surprised if you knew how soon one begins to feel the shortness of the tether: of how many things, even in middle life, we have to say, ‘No time for that,’ ‘Too late now,’ and ‘Not for me.’  But Nature herself forbids you to share that experience.  A more Christian attitude, which can be attained at any age, is that of leaving futurity in God’s hands.  We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not.  Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment ‘as to the Lord.’  It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for.  The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.”

Lewis held this attitude toward the future because he had learned it from Jesus.  Our Lord promised he would return, but did not want his disciples to live in the future, speculating about the timing of his return and the end of history.  Jesus commanded, Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming . . . Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:42,44)

To be awake and ready is not to fixate on the future, but to obey and serve Christ in the here and now.  We are to be present tense Christians awake to what God is doing in the world today.  We are to “make the most of the time” (Eph. 5:16) and trust the future to the One who has come and will come again.  We may as well, because the future is in His hands whether we leave it there or not.

Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  By your Holy Spirit, give me grace to hope in your future coming as I serve you today. Give me eyes to see what you are doing in the world today, so that I might serve your Kingdom here and now. Make me a person of hope – one who knows that the future is in your good hands.  Reveal yourself to me in your written Word.  Amen. 

And John went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”  (Luke 3:3-4, ESV)

People are crooked, our souls twisted.  This is ancient biblical wisdom, but thoughtful people from many different backgrounds have acknowledged it.  If you need proof, some of the greatest evils in human history have been perpetrated by those who denied it, who thought human being are perfectible.  Think Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, etc.  But it’s not just the villains of history. Crookedness is part of the human condition we all share.

The Biblical story tells us it wasn’t meant to be like this.  Crookedness is not part of God’s character, and it’s not part of how He made us. God’s Word tells us in the beginning, “God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).  But it didn’t take long for us to turn our backs on God, and go our own crooked way.  God loves walking straight roads, and thankfully for us, He’s never given up on straightening us out.

John the Baptist was sent ahead of Jesus to make a straight path in us.  Jesus would come into our world to walk right into our lives.  The straight path John proclaimed was not in the wilderness of Judea, but in us.  Straightening Christ’s path, preparing His way, means getting us straightened out. Christ’s goal is to live in us and remake our souls as He intended from the beginning.

In the wilderness, John heard the Word of the Lord, and gave us two commands: prepare the way of the Lord, and make His paths straight. The way is through humanity; the paths are you and me.  John’s announcement is clear that this preparation is something we’re supposed to do.  To think it will be done for us without effort is a misunderstanding of God’s grace.  God enlists us to work for His Kingdom, and work it is.  He calls us to clear the boulders and rock slides from our hearts, to clear the dead branches from His way, to drain our inner swamps.

This straightening is for Christ first, but for our benefit as well.  Crooked deeds feel good when we do them, but not afterward, and there is always the afterward.  Straight as measured by God’s unbending ruler is the only way that stands the test over the long journey – what Eugene Peterson memorably called a long obedience in the same direction.  Our society treats sin as a joke, but the laughter is hollow. Crooked thrills don’t last.  But for millennia believers have found an exponentially greater joy that comes through following God’s way.

John confronts us with a simple choice: spend your energy on laboring the crooked way, or give your strength to preparing the way of the Lord.  It’s what we’re made for.  It’s God’s way, it’s who God is, and He intends it for us.  Do you yearn to know Christ more deeply, to experience His joy for fully this Christmas?  Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

 Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus!  Help me to prepare the way.  Strengthen me by your Holy Spirit to do the hard work to clearing out the rocks and debris of my sin.  Show me how you are at work in me and in the world, so that I might serve you better. Reveal yourself to me in your written Word.  Amen.