Advent

Advent. Coming. The bringing of hope. The discovery of peace. The embodiment of love. The beginning of joy. This is the season in which we celebrate the greatest love God has ever shown us: the arrival of Jesus. He is Emmanuel: God come to be with us. He is Messiah: God our Savior. He is the Christ-child: the anointed one of God.

Even in birth, Jesus exalted the lowly. A baby who will one day redeem us and reconcile us: born to a woman of no consequence, made great by the blessing of our God. A baby of infinite splendor: born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough. A baby who had been praised by the angels: greeted on Earth by shepherds.

Even as a toddler, Jesus opposed the proud. The mighty Herod: shown to be a jealous coward. The extravagant Rome: shown to be worthless.

Thirty-three years later, mankind would see all of this culminate in one glorious act of love. Jesus, the Anointed One, the Embodiment of God, freely gives himself as the sacrificial Lamb, the propitiation of sin, then rises from the dead to become our living Messiah. On the cross, we see the proud and the lowly together. Even on the cross, Jesus exalted the lowly, giving life to the condemned thief. Even in death, Jesus opposed the proud, choosing to stay on the cross then rising to defeat death forever. In Him, we hope. In Him, we have peace with God. In Him, we love. In Him there is joy.

This is Advent: Jesus.