Awestruck at Advent

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, and Christmas is not far off.  So be warned:  don’t let the flurry of the season gobble you up; make time to be still to let the splendor of Advent sink in.

That the Son of God should enter into human life is staggering.  Think of it:  the Creator steps into the realm he created!  What’s more, the incarnation was the vanguard of heaven’s search and rescue operation:  Jesus came “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

The Gospels tell the Christmas story in different ways.  John begins by telling us that “the Word” who “became flesh” “dwelt among us”—pitched his tent within our human condition (1:14).  But prior to that, John wanted to make sure we understood that the Word of God who became incarnate was in fact eternally divine—he was there “in the beginning,” outside of creation!  In this way, John gives us a lofty view of the interaction of heaven and earth, pulling back the curtain on the eternal designs of God.

Luke reports much more specifically how it all came about:  the angel Gabriel tells Mary of God’s favor upon her and her unique role in the divine plan—to bear the Son of God.  How can this be?  Answer:  God can do anything, including what’s impossible (1:37).  Luke’s narrative is punctuated by joy:  Mary dashes off to see Elizabeth, she sings her “Magnificat,” and later the shepherds run to see the Christ Child announced to them by the angels.

Matthew records yet different events, such as the appearing of “magi” from the east—men who’d traveled hundreds of miles, led by a star, to worship the one born King of the Jews (2:2).  They seek out Mary, Joseph, and the infant Messiah, offering gifts and bowing in praise.  In this way, Matthew hints at a theme that will loom large in his Gospel, namely God’s aim to spread the word of life to all people groups.  Thank God for the Gospel accounts!