Our Scripture readings for our Christmas worship service are: Luke 2:1-20 and Romans 5:1-8.
At the beginning of our Advent series I read the following passage written by Rev. Paul DeVries (Brookside CRC, Grand Rapids, MI) and I think it is especially fitting to reflect on that again as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.
We long for more. Especially at Christmastime, we long for more. I don’t mean the common longing for toys and family, carols and jolly feelings, eggnog and Santa. I mean a real, deep longing for something that actually fills us up and satisfies. We long for Christ to be with us.
But, truth be told, even those of us with Christ in our lives are often overwhelmed by the wants and worries of life. We waver and we grow weary. Can this human longing for more, which is so endemic in our lives, be overcome at Christmas? I know of only one possible, positive answer to that question: Christ.
Christ can transform our wants and weariness—our worry and our wavering—into profound wonder. Wonder comes when we recognize that only God’s presence can fully address our longing and emptiness. It’s not that all our longing suddenly disappears with the coming of Christ. But longing is transformed, overcome, superseded, and trumped by the reality of God’s presence with us in Christ.
As we celebrate Christmas, let us do so in wonder at the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Let's celebrate in wonder that He is our Immanuel (God with us).