Love is a flame that burns in our heart, Jesus has come and will never depart.
-from “When God Is a Child” by Brian Wren
Jesus
Angels
Before the journey to Bethlehem, before the lack of adequate lodging, before the manger or the shepherds or the wise men, there was an angel speaking to a young woman. This is where our Advent story really begins. This is where the wonder and the mystery and the waiting all start. I began my Advent observance by placing an angel in the manger scene.
It was the angel, Gabriel, who delivered the good news to Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38), but angels appear throughout the Christmas story. When we think of the angel in the manger scene, we most often consider the one who appeared to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20). An angel spoke to Joseph as well (Matthew 1:18-24).
If you read about each of these angelic encounters, you will notice a theme. Each time the angels speak, they say, “Do not be afraid.” In each case, there are plenty of reasons to be fearful. It is difficult to imagine how we might react to finding ourselves in any of these situations. But each time, there is someone there to offer reassurance. “Do not be afraid.”
That same reassurance is offered to us today, and we, in turn, can offer it to others. That’s really what HOPE is all about, right?
Preparations
Today I unpacked the stable. Tomorrow, on the first Sunday of Advent, I will unpack the angel. Each Sunday of the Advent season, I will unpack another figure, another key player in the Christmas story, another person waiting to experience the arrival of the Christ child.
This stable appears to be old and drafty, the way we often imagine the birthplace of Jesus. It was created by my father, so it holds a special significance to me beyond its role in the Nativity scene.
My father was an artist. In my earliest memories he is sitting on the back porch carving wood with his pocket knife. He called it whittling, but he was not mindlessly shaving slivers from a stick. No, he created beautiful wooden sculptures with great skill and precision. When the carving was done, he spent at least as many hours rubbing, polishing, buffing the wood to glossy perfection. He also painted and sculpted in stone, but carving wood was a spiritual practice for him. He saw God in the natural beauty of wood grain.
–from Waiting for Jesus
We are approaching the end of a busy week. You may have prepared your home for guests, cooked a lavish feast, “shopped til you dropped,” carried home a tree tied to the top of your car, attempted to make that same tree stand up straight, untangled miles of lights, watched hours and hours of football, or participated in any number of other holiday traditions.
I hope you are also preparing your home and your heart for the observance of Advent, and I hope you’ll join me here at IdaBethGeschke.com and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Waiting-for-Jesus-225478267868701/ to share thoughts, reflections, creative expressions, and prayers during the Advent season.
I wish you blessings while we wait…
idabethgeschkedotcom 