Incarnation today

What impact did Jesus have?

God has come down to earth to us. That is what Christians celebrate. Jesus waked amongst us, freed us from sin and shared with us God’s own divine life.

“God spoke to our ancestors

through the prophets, but in these last days

he has spoken to us through his Son.”

Hebrews 1:1-2

A woman was seated in front of her fireplace, thinking about Jesus’ birth. Why would the Creator of the universe decide to be born on earth and live among us? The whole thing seemed absurd.

Just then she heard a sound outside. She looked out and saw half a dozen geese staggering in the snow. They had apparently wandered off from a farm barn and were not cold and confused. She went outside, opened the door of her garage, and tried to herd the geese into it. But the more she tried to help them, the more frightened they became and the more they scattered across the lawn.

Finally, after twenty minutes, she gave up. She realized that the geese had no idea that she was trying to help them.

A strange thought came to her: “If just for one minute I could become one of them – an ordinary goose – I could talk to them in their own language and explain to them what I was trying to do.”

Then it struck her. That was what the birth of Jesus was all about! It was about our Creator deciding to be born on earth, live among us, speak our language, and teach us what is for our happiness.

Recall a time when you tried to help someone but they misunderstood your efforts.

Speak to Jesus about the pain this caused both of you.

Source: Daily Meditation from Advent Storecupboard

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MONDAY

He will be called “Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6

During the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, French and German soldiers were facing each other in trenches, a short distance apart. It was Christmas Eve.

Suddenly a French soldier began to sing “O Holy Night.” He stood on top of the mound of dirt facing the Germans. Not a shot was fired. When the French soldier finished, a German soldier climbed out of his trench and sang “From Heaven to Earth Come.” Again not a shot was fired. Those who witnessed the event never forgot it.

That brings us to an important point about Jesus’ birth. An anonymous poet expressed it this way:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone,

when the kings and princes are home,

when the shepherds are back with the flocks,

the work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost, to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among brothers and sisters,

to make music with the heart.

Relive the Christmas Eve experience described above. What point does it make about the work of Christmas?

Speak to Jesus about one thing you might do to help the poet’s point become a reality.

Source: Daily Meditation from Advent Storecupboard

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TUESDAY

“I will be with you always,

to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20

John Donne wrote a poem about a person who is told that God lives atop a tall mountain at the end of the earth. The person travels to the mountain and begins the journey up it.

Just as the person is climbing upward toward God, God thinks, “What can I do to show the people on earth how much I love them?” God gets the idea to descend the mountain and live among the people as one of them. So God begins to descend the mountain.

And so as the person goes up one side of the mountain, God comes down the other side. They don't see each other because they are on opposite sides of the mountain.

When the person reaches the mountain top, God is not there. Crestfallen, the person thinks, “God doesn’t live here at all. Perhaps God doesn’t even exist.” Donne’s poem makes an important point. Many people today are looking for God in the wrong places. To these people Donne says that God does not dwell in some mysterious place. God dwells right here on earth. God lives among us: in those with whom we live and work, and especially in the needy in our midst.

What is one thing that keeps me from finding God here on earth?

Speak to Jesus about this obstacle and what he might advise concerning it.

Source: Daily Meditation from Advent Storecupboard

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WEDNESDAY

“I am the light of the world

Whoever follows me

will have the light of life

and will never walk in darkness.”

John 8:12

The book Night Flight deals with the early years of aviation. It describes the adventures of aviators who used to fly at night, without the aid of radar or radio.

The book is not only a fascinating story about night pilots but also a parable of our human situation prior to the coming of Jesus into our world.

Before the Son of God walked among us, we lived in a universe that was a mystery to us. We weren't sure where we came from, where we were going, or how to get to our destination – whatever it was. We were like night fliers, enveloped in fog and flying through a strange, hostile country.

It was into this night flying situation that Jesus came. He did not take away the fog and the night. He did something much more incredible and personal. Jesus got into the plane with us. As a result, we are no longer alone in the cockpit, flying blind. We have a co-pilot sitting beside us.

To what extend to you converse with and consult your co-pilot as you journey along? Or do you turn to him only when the fog is thickest and the night is darkest?

Speak to Jesus about your relationship with him.

Source: Daily Meditation from Advent Storecupboard

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THURSDAY

 Jesus “reflects the brightness of God’s glory.”

Hebrew 1:3

A Peanuts cartoon shows Linus saying to Charlie Brown, “That’s ridiculous!” Charlie replies, “Maybe so! But come and see for yourself.” With that, they go into the living room where Snoopy is sitting on the television set. His ears are pointed up and out like an antenna. Charlie says, “See! It does make the picture better.” An amazed Linus says to Charlie, “You’re right!”

A college girl said of this particular cartoon, “If Jesus were on earth today, he might use it as a kind of parable to teach people about the relationship between the Father and himself.”

Her point is this. As Snoopy gave Charlie Brown and Linus a clearer picture of the image on the television screen, so Jesus gives the human race a clearer picture of God. Jesus “reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the exact likeness of God’s own being.” Hebrews 1:3

Because Jesus tells us about God, Saint John calls him the “Word of God.” John writes:

Before the world was created, the Word already existed. The Word became a human being and lived among us. John 1:1,14

What are two things about God that Jesus reveals to us by the way he treated people?

Speak to Jesus about your own efforts to reflect God's glory to those with whom you live and work.

Source: Daily Meditation from Advent Storecupboard

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FRIDAY

“Christ left you an example,

so that you would follow in his steps.”

1 Peter 2:21

One Islamic parable is called “The Watermelon Hunter.” It concerns a traveler who strayed into the “Land of the Fools.” Outside a village, he saw people fleeing in terror from a field where they were working. They were shouting hysterically, “A monster is in our field!”

The traveler drew nearer and saw that the monster was only a watermelon, something the fools had never seen before. To show how fearless he was, the traveler sliced up the watermelon and ate it.

When the people of the village saw this, they grew even more terrified, “He’s worse than the monster,” they said of the traveler. And they became even more hysterical.

Months later another traveler strayed into the “Land of the Fools,” and the same scene repeated itself. This time the traveler didn't play the hero. He took up residence among the fools and taught them to overcome their fear of watermelons. Before he left the “Land of Fools,” the people even cultivated watermelons and ate them.

How is this parable a good illustration of the approach Jesus used with the human race?

Speak to Jesus about how you might imitate his approach as you continue the work he began on earth.

Source: Daily Meditation from Advent Storecupboard

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 SATURDAY

 “The Word brought light to mankind.”

John 1:4

There was once a handsome prince who had a crooked back. This defect kept him from being the kind of prince he was meant to be.

One day the king had the best sculptor in his kingdom make a statue of the prince. It portrayed him, however, not with a crooked back but with a straight back. The king placed the statue in the prince’s private garden. When the prince saw the statue, his heart beat faster. Months passed and the people began to say, “The prince’s back doesn’t seem as crooked as it once was.” When the prince heard this, his heart beat faster still.

Now the prince began to spend hours studying the statue and meditating on it. Then one day a remarkable thing happened. The prince stood as straight as the statue.

The story is a parable of you and me. We too were born to be a prince or princess. But a defect kept us from being what we were meant to be. Then one day God the Father sent God’s only Son into the world to show us what we were meant to be. Jesus stands spiritually straight, and when we look at him, our hearts beat faster.

What do the following stand for in the parable: the king, the prince, the prince’s crooked back, the statue, studying the statue?

Speak to Jesus about what there is in him that makes your heart beat faster.

Source: Daily Meditation from Advent Storecupboard