As we approach Christmas this year, I think it appropriate that we explore the season of Advent, that four-week section of the Christian calendar that precedes the birth of Jesus.
Advent is a time of preparation and expectation. Fall is gone, and Winter is just beginning. The days are becoming shorter, and night seems to close in much more quickly. There seems to be a hush in the air, and people seem to speak in quieter tones with softer voices. It’s as though Nature is preparing for something dramatic to come.
A Time of Waiting.
So it was for the Jews in the years prior to Jesus’ birth. Although His birth had been prophesied many times in the Hebrew Bible [see Isaiah (approx. 700 BC), Genesis (approx. 1,400 BC), 2 Samuel (approx. 700 BC, and others)], it had been over 400 years since a new prophetic writing had been officially recognized and added to the Jewish Bible. The Hebrews had been waiting for their promised Messiah for over 400 years with no discernible word from God as to when the event would happen.
By the time of Jesus’ birth, many Jews had either given up on the prophecy or concluded that references to the event had to be allegorical rather than literal.
There Were Signs.
Nevertheless, God did send signs that the Messiah was on the way. As such indications of the advent of momentous occasions typically are though they were “quiet” and “hard to see.” They seemed unconnected and went unnoticed until the event was actually happening.
In Nazareth, a young virgin was visited by an Angel and told that she was miraculously to become pregnant with God’s son. [Luke 1:26-38] Nazareth was a small village in Galilee, and the stigma of an unmarried pregnancy would have been socially devastating. So, she and her fiance kept the pregnancy quiet, and, after the fiance was also visited by an Angel, [Matthew 1:20], they decided on a discrete marriage ceremony, quickly followed by the new bride’s visit to her cousin’s home in Judah.
When Mary arrived at her cousin’s home, her cousin’s unborn baby “jumped” in recognition of the young bride’s child, presaging his later recognition of the child as the Messiah when they would meet again as adults. [Luke 1:39-45] As miraculous as these events were, they were held close by the persons involved and not shared with others because the Jews of the time were unlikely to believe they’d occurred.
As Mary’s pregnancy advanced, certain Wise Men in Persia who had been observing the heavens noticed a new star. They were knowledgeable about the Hebrew belief in a messiah and wondered whether this new atar might be a sign heralding his arrival. Without fanfare, they set out in the direction the star seemed to indicate to see what they might find.
As the Wise Men were on their way, the Romans called for a census of the population in Palestine. Each person was required to report to their ancestral home there to be counted. As far as we know, this is the only time the Romans required the Jews to do this.
A Difficult Journey.
Joseph (Mary’s husband) was originally from Bethlehem (just South of Jerusalem), so he was required to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be counted. By this time, Mary was late in her pregnancy, but Joseph had to obey the edict. So, he and Mary set out on the 90-mile journey. It probably would have taken them between five and seven days to complete the trip.
When they arrived, Bethlehem was overflowing with people who’d come to meet the requirement for the census. Such a large gathering in such a small town was a remarkable event in its own right. But Bethlehem had also been prophesied as the birthplace of the Messiah by Micah approximately 800 years before. [Micah 5:2] Might someone not have “connected these two dots” to wonder whether this could be the time for the arrival of the Messiah? Apparently not, because the Scriptures don’t mention anyone’s expectation of the event at this time.
So, the stage was set. Events were in motion to bring the requisite ‘performers’ together so that they might play their respective parts in the most momentous event since Creation. And, although the signs were there, only Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and her husband knew what was about to happen.
The Event!
Of course, we now know that Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable and laid Him in a manger. The skies were filled with Angels who sang about the to shepherds in the surrounding fields. And sometime after, the Wise Men arrived to acknowledge and worship the new King. The time of preparation had culminated in the birth of Jesus, and the world and history had been changed forever.
Signs Ignored.
The months and weeks leading to the Advent were marked by several innocuous steps of preparation that had gone largely unnoticed. The importance and meaning of those events became obvious only in retrospect.
So it is with us today. Often we are caught unaware by events that change our lives. Signs of natural disasters are obvious to us only after they have happened. Personal upheavals or traumas are usually unexpected even though the actions and events that led to them may have been noticed by others who failed to recognize or mention them. We are all frequently too caught up in the daily trivia of living to notice the signs that tell us that change is coming. We live through our Advent Seasons, blissfully unaware of the changes to come.
Something We Can Do.
But there is one change we can know about and anticipate. That is the change that comes from the decision to live our lives ever-closer to God. Regardless of our faith or the depth of our belief, intentionally seeking a closer and more intimate relationship with Him is a choice that is available to us all the time.
When we intentionally seek God, our lives are transformed. As we pursue Him daily, we become more like Him, and that change affects every aspect of our lives. Each day we seek God, we are moved a bit closer to Him and His ideal for us.
A Challenge.
Let us each take this Advent Season as an opportunity to seek such a change. Let us each celebrate Jesus’s birth with a resolution that we will no longer ignore the signs that God is there for us and wants to be with us. If we do this, we will begin to change for the better. We will walk daily in the holy light of His presence, and He will increasingly guide and direct our lives.
We will no longer live in a perpetual Season of Preparation. And, we will then experience the fulfillment of His intention for us, and we will participate in our Advent experience, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. Amen.
God’s Blessings On You All.
Richard
December 20, 2019
