A little food for an Advent weekend thought--
"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from His roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." (Isa.11:1-2)
The second Sunday of Advent, and I sit in our quiet living room surrounded by twinkling lights on the tree, bright stockings of those I love hanging on the fireplace mantle, and the weathered, beautiful old nativity from my dear aunt Janie resting on the table. Well, and truth be told, there's also a bit of the ever-present clutter from the piles of books on the desk and on the chair. All reminders of God's perfect and utterly undeserved faithfulness in my life, in our world.
Peace and thankfulness overwhelms me. Peace that God is with me, even me. Thankfulness for family, for friends, and most of all for my Heavenly Father and His wondrous gift of Jesus. Peace and thankfulness for these small, still moments in life when we sit back for a few moments and, like Mary, ponder the things of God, treasuring them in our hearts.
I loved these words from Henri Nouwen that I read just this morning on those verses from Isaiah:
"These words from last night's liturgy [from Isaiah--"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse"] have stayed with me during the day. Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness. I find this a hopeful message. Somehow, I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God's saving power; but over and over again I am reminded that spectacles, power plays, and big events are the ways of the world. Our temptation is to be distracted by them and made blind to the "shoot that shall sprout from the stump."
When I have no eyes for the small signs of God's presence - the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children, the words of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends - I will always remain tempted to despair. The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown young man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he asks for my full attention. The work of our salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. But the promise is hidden in the shoot that sprouts from the stump, a shoot that hardly anyone notices."
Thank You, Jesus, for coming in the small, the hidden, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it, "in the poverty of the manger." Thank You for coming as a tiny, helpless baby to remind us that though You are the Almighty Lord of the heavens and the earth, You were willing to be made small, weak, and vulnerable out of Your amazing grace and love for those You came to save. Give us eyes to see You in the small moments of our day and to share Your love and light with those who are feeling weak and hidden to the world...but not to You.
Thank You for the gift of this day, this one, small, fleeting day, to love You and others...by Your grace, to Your glory. To God--our tiny shoot, our wondrous Savior--be the glory.
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