Luke 1:46-55
Today we celebrate the fourth and therefore, last Sunday of Advent. In three days, we will celebrate Christmas, that’s mean we have just a few days for the final preparation for the birth of our Lord. This last Sunday of Advent we celebrate Love. We have previously celebrated Hope, Peace and Joy. The love we celebrate this Sunday is the love of God and this love is the central truth of Christmas. Indeed, love is the center of the whole season of Advent. We have hope, because of God’s love; we have peace because of God’s love, we have joy because of God’s love. God loves us all and he proves it in Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the greatest gift of all. That is Christ our Lord, the greatest Gift of God to all humanity.
This season, as I said before, is a time of preparation for the ‘Adventus’, the coming of the Lord. And after going through three Sundays in which we spoke about how to be prepared, now we should be ready and prepared to celebrate Christmas as it was intended by God. Christmas is truly about love, the love of God for humanity. Surely, we know that the Gospel has clearly spoken about God who loves us all so much, and in such a way, that He gave us His only Son, so that all those who believe in Him, will not perish but gain eternal life (John 3:16). This verse is the essence of Christmas, the coming of the Son of God into the world, so that a new Hope arises for all the nations and for all peoples. If love is not the heart of our celebration, we have failed to understand the true meaning of Christmas, and then we will not benefit from the richness of God’s grace, which He has given to us.
Christmas is the celebration of God’s love for us. Therefore, this Christmas let us then meditate in the love God has for us and His willingness to enter our world and our lives and dwell within us. What is so special about this love that makes it so central and so important? I will share some reasons why this love is so central and important.
1) The love of God shown at Christmas does not give us what we deserve, but what we need. 2 Corinthian 5:19 “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” God in Christ, the one born in Bethlehem did not give us what we deserve for our trespasses; he gave us what we needed to be reconciled. We deserved a Judge to put us on trial because our sins… and instead, He sent us a Savior to intercede and die for us and his Spirit to guide us and sustain us. John was right when he wrote in first John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!
2) God in Jesus loves us as we are. Many times, I have heard the expression “I cannot come to God because I am not a good person, and this expression is followed by a description of the different reasons why people believe, they cannot come to God. Brothers and sisters, God, the one made flesh in Jesus does not care how we are when we come to him; because of His love, he sees us not just as how or who we are today, but he also pictures how we will look like after we allow him to transform our lives. Jesus takes us how we are now, so tomorrow we can be as he wants us to be. God does not take our lives just to leave us the same way, he takes us to make us better. Listen what Paul said in 2 Corinthian 3:18 “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” With ever-increasing glory Paul says. In Jesus we can be better. God does not want us to stay as we are, He wants us to be better every day. He helps us, so, we can be like him.
3) The love God shows in Christmas is a sacrificial love. To become one of us Jesus left his throne of glory where he was served and worship by millions of angels; God’s love doesn’t ask for anything but gives everything. Listen once again to Paul, how in 2 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes God’s love. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” End of second Corinthians. God came in Jesus in the form of a human to show us this sacrificial and forgiving love. Daniel 9:9 says, “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;” Remember when he was on the cross, the first expression was “father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” That forgiveness for those who were crucifying him was out of the love he has for humanity.
I believe Christmas can be an opportunity to renew our love for God and others. An opportunity when we can ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and help us to see how God loves us; Christmas is an opportunity to let God open our minds to understand his love, and to open our hearts and wills to live that love and share that love.
In a couple days we will celebrate that He is here dwelling among us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if He could find this world with willing hearts and willing minds to receive him? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he finds this world with an open and loving heart?
Jesus is ready to enter in this world. Are we ready to receive Him? “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”