Here Comes Trouble

What were they expecting?

I love this time of year.  We sing beautiful songs of silent nights and shepherds.  We put up trees and decorate them with lights.  We set the stage for the coming of a great King in the form of a small baby, and we know he is not who his people thought he would be.

He will be a great disappointment.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14

What kind of savior would we be praying for if we lived the way the people of Isaiah's time lived?  For what would any oppressed people pray?

The child whose birth we are preparing for during Advent is not the king-like destroyer of the oppressors that the people may have hoped and prayed for.

Yes, he would be a rebel, a force to be reckoned with by religious and political leaders alike, but not in the way they might have imagined.

This would be a different type of savior altogether.

He would come to teach people to serve.  For a people forced into service of an emperor oppressor, this seems wrong.  How can the key to salvation be to serve one another, when they were already slaves in their own land?

The arrival of such a figure would be troubling to all, masters and slaves alike.

In his not-so-quiet way, Jesus would stir everyone up, including his own disciples.

We may like to think of him as the peacemaker, but he has even said that wasn't his mission.  He came to get the pot boiling, to change the paradigm, to set the world back in alignment with God's plan.

So, as we sing and decorate and shop and worship, we should ask ourselves, "How are we doing?"

Now, I am not saying we shouldn't be joyful at this time of year.  If we truly believe the words in the songs we love so much, we can welcome the coming of God among us (Immanuel) with wonder and excitement.

But there is more to Christmas than sharing gifts and celebrating the baby's arrival.  It marks the beginning of a new relationship with God, a commitment to be someone new.

So, as we rush about trying to get that special gift for the ones we love, perhaps we should take a moment or two to think about what type of gift Jesus would want us to offer in his name to someone we don't know, someone who has more of a need than we do.

But why stop there?

In the spirit of Advent, let m,e offer this suggestion.

Suppose we invite others to join in?  When we go shopping, we could bring a friend.  When we buy something special for Toys for Tots or a package to send to the Troops, or we make a donation in the Salvation Army Pot, we can ask our friend to do the same.

This is the season of giving, so why not share the joy of giving with those we know and love?

I know.  It's a bit pushy.  Maybe some will avoid us, saying, "Here comes trouble."

But we'll be in good company.

Happy shopping.

More to come...


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