Advent is the season of longing for healing: physical healing of chronic pain and weakness, emotional healing of words and experiences, social healing of relationships that are strained or completely broken. With the Psalmist, we cry out, “How long, O Lord?” (13:1), “my soul is full of troubles” (88:3), and “lead me, O Lord!” (5:8)
In the time that Jesus was born, the Romans ruled the Mediterranean and believed that the only way to keep the peace was to kill those who disagreed with their way. They expected people to help move commodities like wine and grain as well as luxury items to Rome and to participate in festivals to the emperor and Roman gods. To feed their families and to keep a position in society, some of God’s people, the Jews, collaborated with the Romans. Some of their families hated them for it. Imagine not being invited to Thanksgiving dinner because you worked at the dock helping load wheat to Rome! Words were spoken that left precious relationships damaged and even broken; families with deep hurts and anger.
In our time, we can thank God that we don’t have an emperor that uses violence or threats of violence to suppress dissent. We have a democracy that helps us to express our values and to sort out our differences, no matter how messy. Political advertisements may be extreme, but they shouldn’t kill. Elections take time to count ballots, but leaders can be changed without crucifixions.
Our social disagreements are deep, however, and they have caused wounds in precious relationships. I suspect that each of our families has topics we tip-toe around because we’ve had explosive arguments. In the heat of emotion, we have said or heard insults that left an emotional scar. These aren’t simple disagreements, either. The fire burns hotter because in today’s social climate, a position on a candidate or sexuality, immigration, policing, or education (to name a few) is given ultimate worth and sometimes put in language of a cosmic battle. It is as if to disagree is to oppose God. To disagree is to personally attack my very identity.
How long, O Lord, until the heat is turned down, and we listen to each other? Our souls are full of troubles and griefs over our broken relationships! Lead us, O Lord, to forgive one another and value each other as you, our Creator, value us!
Christmas doesn’t make sense unless we feel the deep longing of humanity for forgiveness to heal our bodies and relationships, a forgiveness that releases us from the prison of our past words and hurts, a forgiveness that is beyond our power. The birth of the king of kings in poverty is no sentimental and unreal movie that makes us feel good for a moment; it is the answer of God to the deep cries of humanity.
Come Lord Jesus!
Pastor Peter
