Advent Reflection: Change
My church has single word theme for every week in Advent. Hope, Peace, Love and the fourth is actually escaping me right now (like I said I am new at this whole Advent thing!). I think that "change" needs to be one. When I think about what Jesus coming into our world means, "change" is becoming my new favorite word. When Jesus came into this world everything changed. When a person becomes a Christian everything changes. Take Jesus, add faith and boom, instant chaos and change enters your life. Its the nature of our Lord.
Take a look at Mary. Now listen, I got married last year, and during that wedding planning time, nothing was ever allowed to change. The church was booked. So was the reception hall. The food? Booked. Guest list? Set. Everything was planned, nothing was allowed to change. Now I realize that Mary was in a different culture and time, but I think that being engaged and getting married has been a constant "high stress and control zone" since time began. So it is in this season of her life that God chooses her to become the mother of the savior of the world. Six months later, things would've been easier, but that is not the way that God works. God is not interested in what is the opportune time. Mary's whole life gets blown up by one little visit from an angel. Everything changes.
So after everything gets staightened out with Joseph, Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Surely this is going to be when Mary starts venting. This is where she is going to whine about not fitting in her wedding dress. This is going to be when the "why me's?" are going to start. Right?
Wrong.
Instead we get a song. We get a song of praise. Luke 1:46-55 is the most remarkable song of praise in all of scripture. Mary is HONORED to have her life changed. She believes that she is the most blessed woman in the world. She is absolutely stoked to be used by God, to have her womb blessed by His presence. Instead of mourning her lost plans, she rejoices to be art of God's plan.
Jesus would spend the rest of His life changing people's plans. Twelve men, left their previous lives to follow Him. Several women would do the same. Blind would see. Dead would live. People with authority would feel it deteriorating. While many without authority would feel empowered.
When Jesus shows up, things change.
If you will allow to go to Narnia for a second, I believe that "the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" illustrates this best. After many, many years of constant winter, without Christmas, Aslan the great Lion returns. What happens? Santa Claus comes. The snow melts. Spring comes! Things change.
To follow Jesus in the season of Advent (or any season), is to embrace change. You cannot say "yes" to Jesus and "no" to change at the same time. Jesus will mess up your life. It will become an unrecognizable version of its former self. So we get to choose. We can be like the Pharisee's clinging to what we know and fighting keep what we understand. Or we can be like Mary. We can see our fortune for being part of God's plan and see where it takes us.
2 comments:
Change indeed. Our small group is looking at a little Dobsonian advent reflection book - of which this week's Sunday reading was dedicated to the proposition that Christ significantly changed history. Not exactly mind-blowing, but true nonetheless.
When you think of it, most of Christian thought is consumed with the concept of change. Repentance is turning away. We cast off our former selves. We become new. So much of the language of xtianity is built around this concept. So, the question always remains: in what ways have we been 'changed'?
I maintain that "the" change of Christianity is worship of the self, to worship of God. That really is the biggest difference between Christians and the "world" is the object of worship in our lives.
Here is my thought though, how committed to change are Christians? I mean committed to real change. I think that we are very comfortable with some categories of change (ie, Jeremiah used to smoke pot, then he became a Christian and he realized that he should change. Way to change Jeremiah!). The simple "bad to good" style change is great. But what about "good to better" or even "good to a different good". Mary's story is disturbing because her life plans were good. She wasn't a prostitute or a lush. She was a good, sweet girl plannin her wedding. God invites her to something better. Her life changes from good to better. Often in our lives, the change is from good to good. Like for Donan, a change from college to youth ministry. Two good things. One massive life-altering change. Sometimes I think that as a church, we really suck at leaving the good behind, for a different good. Then we are disobediant. Then we are worshiping ourselves. So how changed are we?
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