When I was a child, I thought that these last two weeks of Advent, right before Christmas, were a bit magical.
In church I can remember the joy that I felt when the third candle was lit.
“One more to go,” I would say to myself and then Christmas will be here very, very soon.
And then with Christmas came the great delight of Christmas vacation and presents and family traditions and in joining in on the church Sunday school Christmas program.
In the little country church, I attended, it was their tradition to have the children’s Christmas program on Christmas Eve.
Oh, how exciting it was to participate in such an event on the night before Christmas.
The tiny church would be packed, balcony and all, and with my Sunday school friends we would sing and say our lines and in special costumes perform the story of the birth of Jesus.
I knew even then, as a small child, that Christmas pointed to something much greater, even if I could not fully understand what it pointed to.
And while we follow a clock and a calendar – we have faith in a God who is beyond time and whose love and grace, and protection is far greater than what we could ever imagine.
And yet, at this time of the year, somehow, we try.
We even try to practice it and to embody it, even if for the briefest of spurts.
For if we cannot image such love and grace now – how will we ever be able to receive such love and grace.
And so later this morning we will try to do just that.
We will try to image and feel such love and healing and mercy from God as told through the voices of our children – as they act out the story of the birth of Jesus.
And then we will hear again from the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John that miraculous message of the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
Jesus the coming messiah who comes to save God’s people.
He will save us from evil and from sin and he will save us for that which is life-giving and healing.
Can we and will we imagine and believe in such a powerful love from God?
In the Gospel of Matthew chapter eleven John the Baptist has a strong moment of doubt.
He questions if this person, Jesus is indeed who he says he is.
Now in our Scripture reading – John is in prison.
He is not in a good place – his end is near.
And he is having some serious doubts about Jesus.
The messiah is not meeting his expectations.
Afterall, he is in prison.
Later we will hear in the Gospel that he will be executed.
And in this sad state – John thinks that God’s kingdom is not being realized yet on earth.
He is probably thinking here about King Herod and the power of Rome.
John wonders why Jesus has not taken over the throne and assumed kingdom power.
And so, he sends his disciples to question Jesus.
“Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Jesus is the One – there is not another.
Jesus answers back by saying, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies made by the prophets specifically from the prophet Isaiah.
In the book of Isaiah, we hear:
“Say to those with a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear!’ The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”
Jesus’ work of healing and love is ushering in God’s new kingdom.
Jesus is a warrior king in this new kingdom, but he is a warrior king of healing and new life.
He will not misuse his power as kings of old – who kill and destroy.
Instead, Jesus will humbly take the throne and he will judge and rule with justice and love.
Jesus will be a king unlike any other king from the Bible.
He will rule in a new way, and he will restore and reconcile all of God’s creation back to God – he will be the Savior of the world.
It says in Colossians chapter one that God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
In our time, right now, the reconciling work of Jesus continues to unfold.
Jesus continues to manifest the mystery of his healing peace.
It is a peace for you and for me this Advent season.
This is a bit of a magical time in our calendar.
It is a time where we think a little bit more of what it means to help those who are in need, where we try to show a little more kindness to others, where we reflect upon the previous year, where we dream about the New Year and where God will take us, and where we make more space in our hearts for Jesus.
It is a time of the year where we are reminded that we are forgiven and loved by a gracious and compassionate God and where Jesus’ abiding presence is always with us.
Today may you know, without a doubt, that Jesus is the Messiah who comes to make all things new.
His healing presence is for you and for me.
May you be blessed by his peace this Advent and may you know the joy of the Lord now and at Christmas.
We pray.
