December 20, 2020
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Advent Lighting – Light four candles, hope, peace, joy, and love
…and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger… - Luke 2:7
As we come to the week of celebration, anticipation growing for the coming of Christmas morning, we stop and reflect for a moment on the last light of advent, the candle of love. Love is many things, and can be found in many ways. Love is seen in the way we care for those who first loved us. Love is seen in kind gestures to strangers. Love is seen in the giving away of toys to those who might not have a Christmas otherwise. Love is offering a warm meal to someone who is hungry. Love is sitting next to the bedside of someone who is ill. Love is sharing a cup of coffee with someone you care about. Love is found and seen in so many things; yet as we turn to the Scriptures, we find that love is found as the very nature of God.
God is love we might read, and at Christmas we see the love of God become incarnate in more than just the baby Jesus in the manger bed. We see the love of God in the young mother who does what she can to offer the baby somewhere warm to lay. We see the love of God in a unprepared Father who does whatever he can for his betrothed to find them shelter. We see the love of God in the shepherds who come to see this wonderful thing God has done among humankind. The love of God is found in so many faces, and in so many ways.
The idea that love becomes incarnate is also found in us. We celebrate Emmanuel (God with us) during this time of year, but the truth is that God is with us always, and God’s love becomes incarnate in us as we do, speak, and act out of His love.
The days may be getting closer to the great celebration, and that celebration may seem strange this year, as we remain apart from one another. However, the love of this season is very much with us, and in us as we share in the love of God that binds and unites us even while we are yet apart.
Grace & Peace,
Sam