Yesterday was the Advent Sunday of peace. In our current series at St. Andrew’s, we were looking at the idea of finding peace though the pardon of Christ. That is, because Jesus laid down his life as a sacrifice, we are forgiven. All of our sin, all of our brokenness, all of our moments of shame and pain and guilt are pardoned, healed, made whole.

The prophet Isaiah writes,

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”
‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭3-5‬ NLT

It is in the pardon of Christ that the rough and rugged places of each of our lives are made smooth.

This advent season, may you find your peace in knowing that in Jesus, all the broken parts of your life are made whole, all the valleys are filled in, all the bumps and cracks are healed. You can be at peace because you have been forgiven by the Mighty God, the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬ KJV

This is my favorite piece of prophecy about the Messiah. These are words that I have known for so long that I can’t remember how or when I learned them. I know these words so well they have become part of me. They are part of how I understand this time of year, how I celebrate the baby born in Bethlehem, how I understand who Jesus was and is and always will be.

These are the names of the Messiah:

Wonderful Counselor – because he would teach in ways that would inspire people for thousands of years after his death; because he would speak words that would instruct; because his stories would open eyes and inspire poetry; because his words are the way to life that outlasts death.

The mighty God – because his sacrifice and resurrection would break the bonds of sin and death FOREVER; because when he died, the veil would tear and there would no longer be separation between God and humanity; because with a word, with a thought, he could heal the wounded, cure the sick, give sight to the blind and set the captives free.

The everlasting Father – because his reign would never end; because he adopts us as children and fathers us forever; because he has gone to prepare a place for us so that we can be with him forever.

The Prince of Peace – because when we chose to walk in his ways, we find peace within ourselves and peace to give to others in need.

All this, wrapped in a fragile, pink, chubby, tiny, beautiful infant package.

Because God chooses to make himself vulnerable for us. Because in humbling himself, God showed us the depths of his love for us. Because God wants us to know that we are not – not ever, not for an instant – alone. Because God chose to become one of us in order to lead us…to love, to hope, to forgiveness.

Amen.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.
Micah‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ NLT

I’m a short girl. I claim to be five-foot-nothin’…but I haven’t actually measured myself or been measured in years and years. So I don’t really know – I just feel like 5″0′ sounds like a nice round number. The point is – I’m short. I have trouble reaching things on store shelves and nearly every pair of pants I’ve ever owned has needed to be hemmed. I’m small.

But the story Jesus is writing in my life is that small though I may be, I am not insignificant. He has gifted me to do a good work in this corner of His Kingdom. To speak words of hope and peace. To teach the ways of love and joy. To encourage the light to shine in the lives of others.

God has a way of using what may be small to do what is huge. That is what the coming of the Messiah as a tiny baby is all about: that which seems helpless and weak becomes capable and strong – able to accomplish our salvation and break the bonds of sin and death forever.

In God’s hands, a shepherd boy slays a giant, a group of unschooled fishermen change the world and a young unwed girl from a tiny town bears the son of God.

Whether he fully understood it or not, the prophet Micah underscored this theme when he wrote that from the small town of Bethlehem – least among the cities of Judah – would come the ruler of Israel. In fact, not just the ruler of Israel, but the One who is Lord over all.

Never underestimate what God can do with what may seem small or insignificant to human understanding. May you, whenever you feel small or insignificant, find your hope in remembering that the Living God of the Universe came as a tiny helpless babe. May you find your hope in remembering Bethlehem – the tiny town from which came the Lord of all.

This is the Christmas tree in Manger Square, Bethlehem, December 2013.

O LORD, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.
Isaiah‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬ NLT

The thing about hope is that it has the ability, if you hold tightly to it, to get you through. Through the dark night, the tough times, the heartbreak. And then, when you get through all that you look back and see the wonderful things that God has done. How even the dark nights and the tough times and the heartbreak were part of a plan for something better, something wonderful.

At least, this has been my experience. It doesn’t mean that the dark night doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t make the tough times any less painful, it doesn’t make the heartbreak less heartbreaking…but it makes it possible to get through them. It makes it possible to arrive at a day when you can look back and see things differently – even be thankful for the tough times because in them you learned. In them, you grew.

The reason Isaiah’s words are so powerful is that he was writing from a place of hope. He writes as though the wonderful thing has already been accomplished (and certainly God had already accomplished some wonderful things at this point). But the Messiah who is the most wonderful thing, the fulfillment of all the things God has planned has not yet come. In fact, would not come for centuries and centuries after these words are written.

And yet Isaiah’s hope is so strong, so alive, that he writes as if it is already done. As if the Messiah were right in front of him.

Hope is a powerful thing. Hope is a necessary thing. Hope is a gift.

Hope is part of the advent journey because in Jesus we always find ort hopes fulfilled.

May you hold on to hope – in the dark, when the way gets rough – may you grasp tightly to the hope fulfilled in Jesus. May you find your way through to a day in which you can look back and see the wonderful things that God has done, things He had planned long ago.

“The day will come, says the LORD,
when I will do for Israel and Judah
all the good things I have promised them.
“In those days and at that time I will raise up
a righteous descendant from King David’s line.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this will be its name: ‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’
Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭14-16‬ NLT

The words of the prophets are full of God’s promises. A promise is a declaration that one will do something. I remember a line from an Andrew Peterson song that says, “a promise spoken is a promise broken.” I love that line because of its bold honesty. People are not very good at keeping our promises. Whether they are promises made to God or to other people, we have a way of breaking our promises.

But God is different. God’s promises are never broken. He promises to be with us, and sends his Son out of Heaven, down to earth to be one of us, and then to die for us. So that when we put our trust in him, we are assured of eternal life with God. That’s how far God takes his promise. That’s how seriously God takes it.

For God, a promise spoken is never broken. For God, a promise spoken is a promise fulfilled. Maybe not today or tomorrow – but in God’s time. Maybe not how we expected it – but in a way that will be better than our expectations or hopes. God’s promises don’t just succeed, they exceed.

And so many of God’s promises are fulfilled in the baby whose birth we eagerly await during Advent.

During this season, may you know the God whose promise never fails, the hope that is fulfilled in the Christ child and the joy that is available to us through Him.

“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Malachi‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ NLT

Remember as a child how eagerly you looked forward to Christmas? I remember my brother periodically turning to me and telling me how many more days until Christmas. He’d do this at random times of the year, when the weather was warm and Christmas was far from my mind.

I remember how excited we’d be when the Sears Wishbook would arrive and we’d begin to make a list of the things we’d like to receive from the brightly printed photographs on its pages.

I remember when we were young enough to still be living in New Liskeard, how we’d walk home from school in the growing dark (it was the North and it got dark early) and see the lights of the Christmas tree shining through the front windows of the manse.

I remember later, when I was in my early 20’s, how friends of mine would say it didn’t “feel” like Christmas anymore. I think they were saying that they didn’t have that sense of anticipation any longer. They had grown up and lost the sense of wonder that came to us so easily as children.

I think that’s one of the things o love best about my faith. Because I am a Christian, this season isn’t just about presents or parties or a great meal. Because I am a Christian, this season is about salvation, new life, hope, light that shines in the darkness – and these are not things one grows up out of.

I eagerly await the messenger of the covenant – I eagerly await the Messiah – because I always need him. Every time I learn something new or seem to take another step toward Christian maturity, what I discover is how much more I need Jesus than I originally thought. That journey doesn’t end – not in an earthly lifetime.

For me, Christmas is always necessary, always longed for, always anticipated with eager joy because this is the season in which we celebrate God’s eagerness to be with us. That he loved us enough that he just couldn’t stay away. That he chose to be one of us, to be among us, to take on flesh and move into the neighborhood.

Yes, I am still eager for Christmas. My hope and prayer is that you will also spend these next few weeks eagerly looking for the messenger of the covenant, who is surely coming, just as God has promised.

Today is the Advent Sunday of Hope. In the church, this marks the beginning of the season of advent – the period of waiting expectantly that precedes Christmas – as well as the start of a new liturgical year. In my life, it means that I am entering a season of blogging more regularly than is normal for me. I treat my blog as my own personal Advent Calendar during these weeks leading up to Christmas.

So, there is no doubt – today marks a beginning. And I think that hope is a very good place to begin. Long before the baby was born in Bethlehem, the people of God hoped for a Messiah. They had many ideas about what the Messiah would be like – most of which got turned in their heads when Mary gave birth to Jesus (Jesus is really good at turning people’s expectations upside down and inside out!). The prophets wrote about a Messiah they would not meet in their lifetimes. And yet in their words Jesus is absolutely recognizable. The words of the prophets are drenched in hope – the hope of comfort and joy, the hope that sin could be forgiven, the hope that the rocky places of life could be smoothed out.

Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:1-5 NIV

These are the same hopes that are needed in our world today. Life is rocky, the way may seem dark, our sin and shame may overwhelm us, we may lack comfort and joy. But In Jesus God reaches out to us, to make our rocky paths smooth, to light our way, to forgive our sin, to bring us comfort, to usher in joy.

As we begin this season, may you know hope in Christ and may it bring you comfort and joy.

So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.
Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ NLT

Last week as part of our Pre-Christmas All Ages Event, I used a video that spoke of the Bible as a single narrative that points to Jesus, instead of a bunch of disconnected stories. In preparation for that evening and as part of the evening I watched the video a whole bunch of times. You can see it here . I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since that night.

At odd times during the day the words “true and better” whisper through my mind and I find myself thinking of the way that the Bible tells us the story of Christ’s sacrificial salvation in so many different stories with so many different angles and nuances, long, long before the birth of Jesus.

So it comes as no great surprise (and yet as a deep comfort) to find in the fifth verse of Jude, a statement that Jesus is the one who rescued the people from Egypt. Because Jesus is the force behind any act of salvation. If there is new life created, if the captives are freed, if the people in darkness find light, then it is Jesus who IS that new life, that freedom, that light.

There is simply no other name for those things. Jesus. This is who and what Jesus is. This has always been who Jesus is and what Jesus is about.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up and carried away with many worries and concerns and details of our faith life. Sometimes the waters of belief get muddied by all of these things. As we head toward the season of Advent (it arrives on Sunday, people, and I will be blogging an Advent Calendar throughout the season), I found this clarity of who and what Jesus is moving and incredibly helpful.

May you see Jesus whenever there is new life, freedom and light. May Jesus be moving these things in and through the story of your life, today and always.

It is the practice of the Presbyterian Church In Canada, to grant two weeks of Study Leave to its ordained clergy. Put simply, those of us in full time ministry get (a minimum of) two weeks off each year in order to engage in educational pursuits. Whether we choose to go to a conference, take a pilgrimage or do some self directed study, the time for learning is given to us. I remember hearing a colleague of mine refer to this as “the time the church gives us to go away and get smarter.”

I kind of loved that. But the longer I am in ministry the more I am convinced that what we need has less to do with education and ore to do with caring for our souls. We need this time to rest a bit, relax a little and take the time to read/watch/listen to things that will help us care for our souls. Things that will fill our souls with energy, with hope, with joy. Things that will draw us close to the Maker of our souls. Things that will light up the dark places in our souls.

I have done this in many different ways on the various Study Leaves that I have taken in my almost-eight years in full time ministry. I have taken road trips to attend conferences with friends who are also colleagues, I have gone away for some solitary time to think and pray, I have taken a stack of books and spent my time reading and napping and reading again.

This week is a week of Study Leave for me. I have come to my parents’ house with some books (both printed and audio) and some videos from conferences I wished I could have attended (preferably while road tripping with colleague/friends). This morning as I walked to the gym (a good 40 minute trek each way), I listened to John Ortberg’s book on audio, “Soul Keeping.” I plan on doing that every morning this week. Ortberg has never disappointed me. His books are funny, smart and touching. And I am grateful that as I am listening I am my soul is being cared for, my faith is being strengthened and my somewhat bruised heart is being healed.

What about you? How is your soul doing these days? Take some moments to really think about that and to do a bit of diagnosis on your soul – if it’s a little dry, a little malnourished, a little (or a lot!) in need of care, let me recommend some things to you. Find a good book to read (Ortberg’s latest would do nicely, as would anything he has written), listen to some beautiful music (make it live rather than recorded, if you can), ask God for help (we call that praying) and spend some time with a good friend (you know the people who feed your soul simply by being in their presence).

Your soul needs care and often the pace of our modern lives doesn’t allow room for that. Take the time. Make the time. You will be glad you did.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? ‭
Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭36‬ NLT