Jesus came into a world much like our own. The people of Israel were waiting for a king to set all things right. The prophets had told them that another king would come and fix what was broken.
How is this different today? We’re all waiting. For someone to fix it. Our lives are unfinished, and history is as well, and it’s all broken. This Advent season has come again, and how many of us feel an emptiness, a lack, a longing for something that the Christmas we celebrate cannot fill. What does it mean then to celebrate Christmas?
We pull out the decorations and the tree and get ready, and we celebrate a holiday but, what are we truly meant to celebrate? Jesus, Mary’s son who was also God, Yahweh Incarnate, was born into this messy world so that though we are all lost, we may be found.
Though blind, we may see. Truly see the amazingness of this incredible and so beautiful and more real than any reality we think we know so that we too must be knocked off our feet to worship as angels sing a new creation into the dark night. Our dark night. He gives us light and sight for it is not his purpose that we grope through life but rather dance to the music of His song, His singing in us.
So, as this season begins, ask, do I truly see Him and who He is to me? Ask, How am I dancing this dance, singing this song of redemption and hope and in all parts of my life? Ask, where am I sharing the joy in this celebration of new life, no longer blind but now seeing His beauty?
Hear, you peoples, all of you;
pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and let the Lord God be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
And the mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
All this is for the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
Discussion Questions
- Read Micah 1. It seems like a very harsh and hopeless indictment of Israel. However, the events of this book lead us into the story of Jesus’ birth. Do you find yourself, the Church or the world in a similar predicament?
- How do you feel God calling you into His song of redemption and hope this Advent?
- How do you celebrate Christmas?