Parson to Person - Growing in the joy of the Lord

What has changed here?

Does Christmas seem the same as it did when you think about earlier times in life? What in childhood was boundless anticipation combined with a sense of desperately long waiting has turned into an adult time of so much to do and so little time to accomplish it. Some of our boundless anticipation has turned to dread beforehand, followed by relief when it is over. But, aren?t we still talking about the same thing ? Christmas? The season to celebrate the greatest gift ever given? What has changed here?

This is not so different from the lack of joy that was present when John began preaching. John the Baptist came at a time when there had not been a prophet for centuries. His preaching attracted so much attention that many thought he might be the long-awaited Messiah. He answered their inquiries very directly that he was not the Messiah.

John?s word to the people of his time was to prepare for the coming Messiah. In this he reinforced the prophecies of Isaiah and others who said that God would send a Savior who would be Emmanuel, God with us.

John?s warning to prepare stemmed from the fact that the people?s worship had gradually deviated from the joy of the Lord to the slavery of following endless human rules. If the people did not look up from their rules, did not turn back toward the Lord, then the Messiah very well could come into their midst and they would not even recognize him because they did not know what the righteousness of God was.

For the majority, that is exactly what happened. Those who should have been first to recognize the Messiah steadfastly refused to accept anything he said or did because he did not conform to their expectations. He did not fit within their system. In fact, he was a threat to their system.

As we come back to the season of preparation, to the season of Advent, we hear John?s words again, ?Prepare the way of the Lord.? The words echo across the centuries: Turn from your worldliness. There is more to life than things.

We cannot return to childhood except in memory, nor should we want to. We have not come this far to turn back, but for our path to be anything but a dead end, we must make some adjustments to our heading, to turn toward, or back toward, the ultimate source of righteousness and goodness. Something has to change here.

Our faith should be the source of our deepest joy, but it can be difficult to sense faith unless it is practiced regularly and frequently. It takes regular practice because faith grows slowly. It takes frequent practice because we tend to forget, and to be overwhelmed by the demands of life.

Let us practice daily and come together at least weekly to share our discoveries, and to grow in joy as we prepare to live the way of the Lord.