The Fullness of Christmas Time
Merry Christmas!
As we celebrate the arrival of baby Jesus into a broken world, a child that would grow up to be our Savior & King, sometimes our heart can forget how to receive this good news amid the busyness. Or we find that our days have left us feeling estranged from a once tangible wonder of Christmastime.
How has this season been for you?
Perhaps you are delighting in the wonder of the Christmas season this year?
Or perhaps you are wondering how to find wonder once again?
And what it looks like to connect with God in this holy day?
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,
Born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons & daughters.
And because you are sons & daughters, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
- Galatians 4:4-6
Did you know that the sonship of Jesus--the fact that He dwelt with us as a little baby--means God welcomes all people in all seasons, facing any sort of need or longing, no matter what?
That is the power of His love.
And today, He's welcoming you into the Presence of the Father.
His arms are open wide.
Take a moment and receive this gift from Him.
Poet & priest, Malcolm Guite, in this Christmas poem A Tale of Two Gardens, writes about the disconnection we can experience with God, even at Christmas time, and how Jesus's birth can bring fresh life to our hearts.
God's very real pursuit of us through His Son can become a living relationship that leads us on a journey where perfect love begins to infill our broken places and paces. (1 John 4:18)
May these words refresh your soul as you celebrate today...
So now he comes to us again
Not as the Lord Most High
But weak and helpless as we are
That we might hear him cry
The strongest comes in weakness now
A stranger to our door
The king forsakes his palaces
And dwells amongst the poor
And where we hurt he hurts with us
And when we weep he cries
He knows the heart of all our hurts
The inside of our sighs....
May the Lord be so near to you this Christmas and may His arms welcome you into His New Year and all He has in store for you, as you journey with Him.
Looking forward to our paths crossing again
A Tale of Two Gardens
-A Christmas Poem-
By Malcolm Guite
God gave us all a garden once
And walked with us at eve’
That we might know him face to face
With no need to believe
But we denied and hid from him
Concealing our own shame
Yet still He came to look for us
And call us each by name
He found us where we hid from him
He clothed us in his grace
But still we turned out backs on him
And would not see his face
So now he comes to us again
Not as the Lord Most High
But weak and helpless as we are
That we might hear him cry
And he who clothed us in our need
Lies naked in the straw
That we might wrap him in our rags
Whom once we fled in awe
The strongest comes in weakness now
A stranger to our door
The king forsakes his palaces
And dwells amongst the poor
And where we hurt he hurts with us
And when we weep he cries
He knows the heart of all our hurts
The inside of our sighs
He does not look down from above
But gazes up at us
That we might take him in our arms
Who always cradles us
And if we welcome him again
With open hands and heart
He’ll plant his garden deep in us
The end from which we start
