SBP Advent Day 22 - Saint Benedict Parish

Love Came Down

Light four candles and say together
O Adonai - O sacred Lord of ancient Israel,
who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush,
who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain:
come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.

Reflection

Reading through the Bible’s Old Testament, everything that happened before Jesus was born, we can be left envious of the sheer scale of miracles witnessed. How could you not believe in God when a sea is parted, or when manna comes down from the heavens to sustain God’s people or when water comes from rocks or donkeys speak or walls fall down or the sun and moon stand still or men stand in a fire without getting burned or are thrown into a lion's den without getting mauled or swallowed by a fish only to be spit back out alive...

Yet God had never shown up quite like this.

Sure, God had shown Himself to Moses (Exodus 34:5-28) but Moses could only see God’s back, which affected his appearance forever after. Elijah was shown God, but for him, he experienced a still, small voice, and yet, Elijah still covered his face. (1 Kings 19:11-13). (I have to wonder if, for these two, the real experience of God’s full glory was revealed to them when they appeared with Jesus during His transfiguration. Mt. 17:1-8, Mk 9:2-8, Lk 9:28-36.)

There are other likely instances of God’s physical presence on Earth before Jesus. Hagar was visited by The Angel of the Lord after she was banished from Abraham and sent into the desert. But Haggar interpreted this being as God Himself. (Genesis 16:13). Only two chapters later, we’re told that The Lord visited Abraham and Sarah’s at their tent (Genesis 18:1). The fourth man in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was called the “Son of God.” (Daniel 3:23-29) There are other instances like this, but the truth is, in each of these cases, God showed up for specific people at a specific time for a specific purpose.

In fact, much of the Old Testament is the story of God choosing a people to love and making a way for them to be in communion with Him only for them to choose other paths over and over again. This relationship was fraught and the connection seemed unstable, at least on the part of human beings.

But then, A New Way For God To Connect With Us came about like this: There was a simple man and a simple woman planning to simply get married until she was found to be with child. And just like that, heaven had broken through into our world in a way that was real, tangible, and lasting. God could be held, God could be touched, God could be seen and known. God in all His glory, here in a womb changing the course of Mary and Joseph’s lives and changing the course of history.

Here was God, in our world, not just for Mary and Joseph, but for everyone. Here was God, in our world, not just for those in the first century, but for all time. Here was God, in our world, not just to meet the needs of the day, but to meet every need.

Here was God. Here. With us.

There’s a theory that posits that Joseph didn’t react the way he did because he questioned Mary’s character but because He believed her and didn't feel worthy. If this baby she was carrying really was God’s Son, who was he to raise Him? And maybe that is how you feel today, as you light the fourth Advent candle, and this story of how the Messiah’s birth came to be feels so far away and impersonal. How could this tiny child born two thousand years ago really be born for you? How could you be worthy of that? But the promise the angel gave Joseph is still active: “He will save his people... and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Our fourth candle of Advent has been known to represent love. And there is no greater love than for God to enter into our stories to be with us, showing up in the gentlest of ways. No longer is God only accessible to specific people at specific times for specific purposes. God is with us. Always. Love came to us and is always available.

Reflect and Discuss

How accessible do you experience God as being?
Do you feel closer to God knowing that Jesus is the ultimate expression of “God with us” and was sent to you, too?
How can you welcome Jesus into your life and your story this season?

Pray
O Adonai, Lord of all Lords, you humbled yourself into the most helpless being to enter our world, bringing the full force of heaven’s Love. May we feel your call of Love as we welcome you into our homes and our lives this Christmas.
Amen

Advent in Action
Make a Christmas ornament to hang in your house or to give to someone else as a gesture of love. As you creatively make this new thing, let it remind you of the way God entered our world to bring Love.

More information about our Advent Prayer Challenge can be found here.
Click here to subscribe to daily reminders.