18th December Advent Devotion – Oh the arms of love, they fly faster than I can fall
Hello,
Today we consider the prophetic portraits of Jesus as coming messiah given to God’s children who at the time were in exile in Babylon. To a people utterly destitute, extremely poor, lacking the means to provide for themselves in any way – they had been unable to keep God’s covenant; They had lost their land; Their families were divided; They had even lost their identity as God’s children, destitute…flows from our Father’s heart this wondrous gracious invitation that would appear as His only Son Jesus, The Messiah, God’s anointed or chosen one, the anticipated deliverer.
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| Photo by Karen Way – Sunset from Totland Bay Isle of Wight |
One of my favourite carols is O come O come Emmanuel.
This advent hymn, paints 6 Old Testament portraits of the coming messiah; Wisdom, Emmanuel, The Lord of Might, The Rod of Jesse, Dayspring, and The Key of David.
The refrain after each verse commands “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, shall come to thee O Israel.”
These portraits came as prophesies to God’s people who at the time were living in captivity in Babylon. For 600 years they anticipated the deliverer with great longing and expectation.
Finally the long awaited announcement came Luke 2:11 “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a saviour which is Christ the Lord.”
Lets take time to read this story again from The Voice, a paraphrase bible. I enjoy its refreshing narrative and insights.
Luke 2 The Voice (VOICE)
2 Around the time of Elizabeth’s amazing pregnancy and John’s birth, the emperor in Rome, Caesar Augustus, required everyone in the Roman Empire to participate in a massive census— 2 the first census since Quirinius had become governor of Syria. 3 Each person had to go to his or her ancestral city to be counted.
This political background isn’t incidental: it is crucial to the story. Conquering nations in the ancient world work in various ways. Some brutally destroy and plunder the nations they conquer. Some conquer people as slaves or servants. Other empires allow the people to remain in their land and work as before, but with one major change: the conquered people have to pay taxes to their rulers. The purpose of a census like the one Luke describes is to be sure that everyone is appropriately taxed and knows who is in charge.
4-5 Mary’s fiancé Joseph, from Nazareth in Galilee, had to participate in the census in the same way everyone else did. Because he was a descendant of King David, his ancestral city was Bethlehem, David’s birthplace. Mary, who was now late in her pregnancy that the messenger Gabriel had predicted, 6 accompanied Joseph. While in Bethlehem, she went into labor 7 and gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid Him in a feeding trough because the inn had no room for them.
8 Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks from predators in the darkness of night. 9 Suddenly a messenger of the Lord stood in front of them, and the darkness was replaced by a glorious light—the shining light of God’s glory. They were terrified!
Messenger: 10 Don’t be afraid! Listen! I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere. 11 Today, in the city of David, a Liberator has been born for you! He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority! 12 You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough.
13 At that moment, the first heavenly messenger was joined by thousands of other messengers—a vast heavenly choir. They praised God.
14 Heavenly Choir: To the highest heights of the universe, glory to God!
And on earth, peace among all people who bring pleasure to God!
15 As soon as the heavenly messengers disappeared into heaven, the shepherds were buzzing with conversation.
Shepherds: Let’s rush down to Bethlehem right now! Let’s see what’s happening! Let’s experience what the Lord has told us about!
16 So they ran into town, and eventually they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the feeding trough. After they saw the baby, 17 they spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child. 18 Everyone who heard their story couldn’t stop thinking about its meaning. 19 Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned to their flocks, praising God for all they had seen and heard, and they glorified God for the way the experience had unfolded just as the heavenly messenger had predicted.
Here again is Luke’s fascination with disadvantaged people. Jesus’ first visitors are not ambassadors, dignitaries, or wealthy landowners. The first to pay Him homage are simple shepherds, minimum-wage workers in the ancient agrarian economy. They have little to no status in the world. They are the humble and the poor whom God is now raising up to receive heavenly messages and an audience with the great King. This theme recurs as the story continues.
Jesus came to deliver us into freedom from the things that hold us captive, e.g. fear, anxiety, rejection.
He invites us to drink from Him, feed from Him, to Know Him, and more through the blood of a saviour, be raised up to communion and even more Sonship, the promise of intimacy with Our Father God, given a new identity as His Child, and an inheritance…all that I am and have is yours…WOW!!!
When Jesus came many who had anticipated Messiah and longed for His coming missed it.
We can miss his invitation because of our judgements and independence. I know that at times I’ve missed the deliverance and freedom God gives because I judged myself unworthy to receive such love. I’ve hidden from him in my coping strategies of pride and independence trying to cover my own sin and shame and I tried so so hard to deserve his love in my service of Him.
Lord deliver us from judgements that lead to independence and hiding from you rather than relationship with you, as saviour, redeemer, the one who loves us with an everlasting love.
I invite you to pray these words from Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, God, and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Prepare a path in our hearts Lord
– and let your glory be revealed among us.
Jonathan Helser on his latest album Beautiful Surrender sings ‘The gospel of Jesus’ about the one who rescues us, and His Amazing Grace. My favourite line says “Oh the arms of love they fly faster than I can fall. Oh the arms of love they’re in this room, they’re holding us.”
Take time now to fall into His arms of love and allow him to hold you.