Love Came Down At Christmas

 Love Came Down At Christmas

“The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him the complete gifts of undeserved grace and truth have come down to us.” John 1:14 CEV

Living in heaven on earth in the here and now is not a pipe dream but God’s dream for all of us. This is the good news - Love Came Down At Christmas. Jesus Christ came to incarnate the love of God that we may understand, appreciate and share the unfailing grace and mercy of God. Jesus came to show us the way to live a life that is fully human and fully divine - by being totally filled with the power of love:

“Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine;

Love to God and all men, love for plea and gift and sign.”

Advent is a time to see how God is at work in me when my life is totally surrendered to Him. Advent is a time to prepare myself to pray as Mary did, ”be it unto me”:

“And be it unto me
According to Your word
According to Your promises
I can stand secure
Carve upon my heart
The truth that sets me free
According to Your word O' Lord
Be it unto me”

The truth that sets me free is God’s wonderful promise that when the Lord is my Shepherd, I do not have to strive to seek God’s goodness and mercy. In fact they follow me all the days of my life when I follow Christ:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Psalm 23:6

To follow Christ is to let all that I am wait quietly before God:

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.” Psalms 62:5-‬6 NLT

It is in resting and waiting on God, that I am trusting the Spirit to change the soil of my heart from a path, a stony or thorny soil into a fertile soil. God is the gardener of the garden in my heart and when the seed of God’s love take root in my heart, I will be filled with the joyful blessing of the fifth beatitude:

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 NLT

We are not called to be merciful in order to receive mercy. We do not received mercy because we have placated God with our worship. We are merciful because we have received mercy as we follow the supreme example of Jesus Christ who prayed on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 NLT

It is the sin of Sloth, the “noonday sleeping sickness” that keeps us from living the forgiven and forgiving life. Sloth leads us to forget God’s mercies that we have received. Our hearts are hardened and we struggle to forgive others. Love came down at Christmas to help us overcome the sin of Sloth. The silent and holy night of the birth of the Christ child moves us to search our hearts. In the face of God’s amazing love we can be fully human by confessing our weaknesses and failings. As we do so, we receive God’s mercy to embark on the journey to be fully divine - forgiving others and to be a channel of God’s mercy and grace. So let us pray that the Christ child may be born in us this Christmas:

“O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel”