The Gifts of Advent
There is a spirit of expectancy in the air just before Christmas. This spirit carries within it mixed emotions: joy, sorrow, loneliness, family, giggles, tears…. All the preparations, with decorating the house, singing carols, going to Christmas concerts, buying and wrapping gifts, visiting friends and family, cooking treats and making meals, carry this expectancy of things to come.
I can just picture God sitting in an easy chair beside the Christmas tree that is laden with decorations. He is protecting colourfully wrapped presents under it’s branches. He has this twinkle of mischief and joy in his eyes and He is having trouble controlling his giggles of glee under his broad smile. He may even have dawned a Santa’s hat on his head. He can hardly wait for the time to come when He can hand out the gifts. He is expecting great things for us. He takes a present from under the tree and hands it to us saying, “Open it. Go on, open it!” We take this proffered gift and rip the wraps off it to reveal the gift of peace.
“It is my gift of peace to you,” He says, as He senses the cacophony of voices bombing into our minds. We are not at rest within. These voices call out to us in the middle of the night scaring us and robbing us of sleep. They busy us during the day so that we do not have to listen to the restlessness, fear, shame, or guilt within. “‘My peace is different,” God says with his sheepish grin, “It is a peace that surpasses all understanding. I leave it with you. I give it to you, not as the world gives do I give it to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”*
He looks at us with longing as we examine this gift of peace. Then turning toward the tree, picks up another present. With the same spirit of delight and glee written on his face, he presents this gift to us stating, “Here is another gift I want you to open,” as He puts His arm around us. It is opened to reveal “Hope”. It is as though He has gone beyond our thoughts to the inner most chamber of our hearts where we can harbor despair, hopelessness, meaninglessness, and death. Circumstances, illness, and emptiness inside can make us search for an escape. Anything will do. Even suicide or death seems more pleasant than living like this. And He says, in response to our unspoken despair, “My hope does not disappoint you, because I pour out My Love to you through the Holy Spirit which I have given to you. Look up, beyond the clouds, and see that I am there. I will carry you through.”**
We sit pensively looking at this gift of hope as the tug of war continues in our hearts. God sees this reluctance and then His face lights up brighter than the lights of Christmas. He turns, bends over, and picks up a third present. This one is wrapped in deep red with a big bow swirling around it. “I have another present for you. Please take it.” He says. We accept the gift in our hands and with an encouraging nod of His head He indicates we are to open it. Taking off the extravagant bow of ribbon, we rip the wrapping paper off to reveal the gift of joy. He says, “I know everyone wants to be happy and they want all their loved ones “just to be happy”. But I offer you joy. When you do that which gives Me joy, you will be strong… and happiness is the by-product.”*** There is a pause as we stare at it. Then He says with such gaiety in His voice, “I hope you like it.”
We sit quietly looking at the present He has given us and then He exclaims, “Oh, I almost forgot. There is another present here.” He takes it from under the tree, and hands it to us. We rip the wrappings off and look with wonder at the gift of love. How did He know we feel unloved, worthless, and alone at times? And He says, “You know, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you from my Love.”**** Tears come to our eyes as we stare lovingly into His eyes.
“But that is not all. I want to be with you,” He says. The God who looks down at His universe and sees this spot of dust called earth wants to be with us! Each of us, just another speck amongst 7 billion people, is whom He wants to be with. He says, “Expect me to arrive in the form of a baby.” He is aware of the many risks He is taking with this. He could have been aborted as his mother was unwed. He had to go through all the illness that plague children. He had to go through all the search for self-identity in His teenage years. He had hear all the many voices, philosophies, and worldly wisdom of humanity. But He chose to take those risks because His most longing desire was to be with us. He wants us. He wants me. He loves us. He loves me. He wants to hug ume. He wants to carry us. He wants to give us everything - even Himself. That is the reason for the expectant, gleeful look on God’s face as He sits by the Christmas tree in His Santa hat, just taking it all in. We reach out our arms to be enfolded in His embrace. Emmanuel. God is with us.
*John 14:27
**Romans 5:5
***Nehemiah 8:10
****Romans 8:38-39