Christmas at Christ Fellowship

Week 1 of Advent| The Prophets

Lisa Scheffler, author

O’ Come Divine Messiah

O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph
And sadness flee away

Dear Savior, haste
Come, come to earth
Dispel the night and show your face
And bid us hail the dawn of grace

O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph
And sadness flee away

O Christ, whom nations sigh for
Whom priest and prophet long foretold
Come break the captive fetters
Redeem the long-lost fold

Dear Savior, haste
Come, come to earth
Dispel the night and show your face
And bid us hail the dawn of grace

O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph
And sadness flee away

• By L’abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, 1708, translated into English by Sister Mary of St. Phillip, 1877

Before they fully realized just how much they would need him, he was already promised.

In the beginning, God created a wonderful world where he would live with his special creation, but the first people rebelled against his presence and reign. As Adam and Eve stood before God and learned of the consequences of their sin, the Creator also offered hope. Before they experienced how hard life would be away from God’s presence, he’d already reassured them with his word. One day, one of their own descendants would come and set everything right (Genesis 3:15).

Over the millennia, as scripture was recorded, the outline of this Savior gained definition. In the words of the prophets, the poetry of the Psalmists, and the stories from Israel’s past, the thin lines of the sketch we see in Genesis becomes a fuller portrait. The divine Messiah would come — the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Prince of peace. And so Israel waited for his arrival.

As we move into the Christmas season, we’re entering the weeks that churches around the world have traditionally observed as Advent. Derived from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival,” Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It’s a season of expectancy and preparation, culminating in the celebration of Jesus, the Messiah who was, and is, and is to come. It’s a time to shout “Hallelujah!” as we rejoice over the birth of our Savior, and “Maranatha!” (Come, Lord!) as we anticipate his return.

This year Advent begins on this Sunday, November 29. So, let’s join together as the people of Christ Fellowship and celebrate Advent together. In the Engage God Daily, we’ll walk through traditional Advent passages and ponder the moments that led to Jesus’ birth. We’re also including a traditional Advent guide that you can use with family or friends on the four Sundays of Advent, and Christmas Eve. You’ll find this at the end of Day 5.

May the stories we’ll hear during this season, and the Savior we’ll worship bring us peace, joy, and hope at Christmas.

Day 1 | Waiting

I don’t know about you, but I am more ready for Christmas this year than I have been in a long time. After everything we’ve been through in 2020, I am ready for some shiny tinsel and twinkling lights to brighten the gloomy winter nights. But beyond needing some Christmas cheer, this year, my soul is resonating more than ever with the mood of Advent.

We are used to the expectation and anticipation that’s supposed to come with Christmas. In the Hallmark movie version, it means watching the oven timer while the cookies bake, looking out the front windows every fifteen minutes for loved ones to arrive, and staring at the presents under the tree and wondering what’s inside. It’s a joyful anticipation where the waiting is tinged with excitement.

Yet, for a lot of us, Christmas 2020 has us feeling a different kind of anticipation. We’re anticipating the end of a pandemic and praying that our loved ones stay safe in the meantime. As we eagerly await vaccines, better treatments, and an end to mass outbreaks, we’re looking forward to the day we can gather with a large group of people without anxiety — or a mask. For many of us this year, our anticipation is tinged with a deep sense of weariness.

We’re in good company. This Christmas, our sense of waiting is much more like the prophets of old than something depicted in a greeting card. Oppressed by foreign nations and broken by divisions within their own people, Israel waited for the King to come and rescue them. He’s the one we’re anticipating as well.

So let’s allow the tension of waiting to remind us of the one we’re truly waiting for. Because as wonderful as it will be when we are on the other side of this pandemic, sin and death will still be realities in our world until Jesus returns. For ancient Israel, their longing for the coming of the Messiah was an ache, not a tingle. The more they understood the hopelessness of their situation without him, the greater their desire for their long-expected Savior and King. As we remember his first coming, it’s that kind of longing and desire that should have us anticipating his return.

Today, let’s meditate on a single verse from Isaiah that captures a sense of longing that gives way to a joyful anticipation of Advent.

Read 

Isaiah 9:2

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.

One of the reasons we decorate with sparkles and lights at Christmas is because it’s the darkest time of the year. Even in the modern world, with the benefit of electricity, we like a little extra light during the long nights.

Imagine being an ancient Israelite and trying to traverse a rocky terrain in the deep darkness of a desert night. When the dawn finally breaks, and the world goes from black to full color, there would be a sense of joy and relief. At last! The darkness has been chased away and the way forward is clear!

It’s the arrival of a great light that we celebrate at Christmas and what we anticipate when Jesus returns. His coming will make everything right. Let’s believe it, trust it, and celebrate it this Christmas. May Advent give us strength in our fatigue, hope in our weariness, and joy in the long, dark night.

Take some time to pray and thank God for being true to his word and sending Jesus. Ask him to reveal himself to you in a fresh way during this Advent season. Ask him to grant your joy and peace.