Thought for the Week 2020 – Advent 2

Psalm 62

¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken.

³ How long will you assault me?
    Would all of you throw me down –
    this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
⁴ Surely they intend to topple me
    from my lofty place;
    they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
    but in their hearts they curse.

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honour depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

⁹ Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
    the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
    together they are only a breath.
¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
    two things I have heard:
‘Power belongs to you, God,
¹²     and with you, Lord, is unfailing love’;
and, ‘You reward everyone
    according to what they have done.’

Advent 2 – Incarnation, not Tradition.

When I was a child, December was the slowest moving month of all. Yes, I had an advent calendar to open, to help count down the days down to, (alternate doors, with my brother) but the month seemed to take so long to get from the 1^st to the 25^th! (There was no chocolate in my advent calendar, and I had the same one every year – we just closed all the doors and put it away until the next year). Now, as an adult, the month of December flies by! Especially since it has been part of my job to lead carol services and so on – they just come around so quickly when you think you have plenty of time to organise them!

So, we are already in the second week of Advent. Presents have been bought, planning has been done, but there is still a lot more to do, and not much time left. This year is going to be a strange Christmas for all of us. It will be the first year for over 20 years when Jen and I have not travelled to see parents on Christmas Day. And the first year ever (since we got married 30 years ago) in which we have not travelled to see parents at all over the whole Christmas period.

Do you feel anxious about Christmas 2020? How will we cope with our traditions all being changed? If you can only join with two other households, how will you choose which family members to see and which not? No ‘Carols by Candlelight’ this year, no Club 707 ‘Christmas Wrapped Up’ for the schoolchildren. Will it really be Christmas?

Christmas is a reminder of the greatest moment in world history – the most amazing, astonishing thing to happen, and the most wonderful. It is a reminder of the ‘incarnation’ – God became a human being and came and lived amongst us. The creator became a part of his creation. God himself took on human flesh – he grew inside the womb of a young woman, was born in poverty and was utterly dependant upon his mother for some years. He did it so that we could have a relationship with him, so that we could know the truth of what it means to follow him, and he did it to win our salvation and the forgiveness of sins. Is any of that cancelled? Certainly not! Is any of that changed by the fact that we can’t have a normal carol service? Absolutely not!

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken.” (Ps. 62: 1 - 2) Our salvation is in Christ alone and the facts of his birth, death and resurrection. Our salvation does not come through traditions! My soul finds rest in God, says the psalmist. And again, in verse 5: “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.”

This year, despite so many things being different, and despite the anxiety associated with the virus, may we all truly find rest and hope in our Saviour. May we rejoice in the Saviour’s birth, and celebrate it with thanksgiving. May we trust in him to bring us through this difficult time in our history and out the other side into something new! Verse 8 says, “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

 

Prayer

Dear Lord, our Father, we thank and praise you for the truth of the incarnation and all that it means to us in our lives and for our salvation. This Christmas will be different in many ways, but at its heart there will be no difference at all. In its true meaning it is a very real Christmas. So may we once again celebrate, and know your love and presence with us and surrounding us. Please help us to trust in you at all times, and to find rest in you, from whom our hope comes. We pray for all who are troubled and struggling and suffering in many ways – please put your arms of love and comfort around them, and give them peace through the Holy Spirit. Amen.