Greetings,
As we move toward the end of the conclusion of Advent and our focus is more and more in the birth of Jesus, let us not forget the close connection between the incarnation and the coming of Christ in glory. Both events are about the coming of God and God’s kingdom on earth.
Abraham Heschel, in his Man’s Quest for God (1954), writes:
There is a divine dream which the prophets and rabbis have cherished and which fills our prayers, and permeates the acts of true piety. It is the dream of a world, rid of evil by the grace of God as well as by [our] efforts…to the task of establishing the kingship of God in the world. God is waiting for us to redeem the world. We should not spend our life hunting for trivial satisfactions while God is waiting constantly and keenly for our effort and devotion.
The Almighty has not created the universe that we may have opportunities to satisfy our greed, envy and ambition. We have not survived that we may waste our years in vulgar vanities. The martyrdom of millions demands that we consecrate ourselves to the fulfillment of God’s dream of salvation. Israel did not accept the Torah of their own free will. When Israel approached Sinai, God lifted up the mountain and held it over their heads, saying: “Either you accept the Torah or be crushed beneath the mountain.”
The mountain of history is over our heads again. Shall we renew the covenant with God?
As a Christian I have a different view of how God persuades, or attempts to persuade, us to obey God’s will. It is the coming of a gracious invitation to obey in the form of the incarnation which the Jewish people had difficulty accepting. We today so often want God to drop a mountain on us rather than invite us to follow. Elie Wiesel tells a Hasidic tale which reflects the position that we need to be called, not coerced:
If you think you can bring your people back into the fold by making them suffer, then I, Leib, son of Rachel, swear to you that you will not succeed. So why try? Save your children by giving them joy, by delivering them. By doing it that way, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
We are called to be the reality of God in the world today, to be the coming of the kingdom. As we move through Christmastide, may we hear and accept the invitation and be the coming of God’s grace. May each day before and after Christmas find us being the reality of God in the world today, offering God’s invitation of grace and love to all people, especially those people God shows such a special concern for, the “widows and orphans,” that is, the “poor and needy.” Who in your neighborhood needs help? What elderly or chronically ill people need assistance with chores around the house, with shopping, with getting to the doctor, or especially with someone just to come and sit with them and listen again, and again, to their stories? Who in the local nursing home needs a visit? It can be anybody; ask the office who doesn’t get many visitors. Or just go on Christmas day and sit with people. (You might want to call the home Christmas to touch base with them as to your good intentions.) Look for the homeless on the streets in your town, not on Christmas day, but two days after (they get lots of attention on Christmas day, but the food has run out two days later). Call a children’s home (such as the Board of Child Care, or the Lutheran Children’s Home) to ask what you can do to help individual children there. Call you cousin, aunt or person from work whom no one likes and invite her or him to lunch. And don’t forget to spend time with your child playing with their new toy and reading them some Christmas stories. Let them show you how stupid you are when it comes to the latest video game or amazing toy.
Rejoice, the King has coming!
Rejoice, the King is already seeking to live in you!
Rejoice, the King is coming in Triumph and Glory for all who will receive him this Christmas!
Yours & His,
DED
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