Advent

Baby Blankets

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“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

(Luke 2:12-14, ESV)

Why this little detail? Why mention the baby blankets wrapping up the baby Jesus from the cold? The angels mention it as if it’s important to them, not just the sign they found the right baby. Babies get swaddled – it’s what they do, or rather it’s what’s done to them.

But the angels are quite specific. You’ll find him in swaddling cloths. In a feed trough in the barn. 

We aren’t told much about what angels think in the Bible, what their attitudes are or what they think of us. We can guess. They’ve seen all of what humans can do, you and me and everyone else. They are silent witnesses of our history, and they know the truths of quiet atrocities and noisy cribs. I wonder what they think, and it’ll be interesting to ask them some day. 

They noticed the swaddling cloths. 

Think about how astonished they must’ve been. There’s a privilege that some of the seraph angels have, which is to worship before the throne of the high King of heaven night and day. He is a king greater than all kings. Atoms and galaxies spin at His command. Gravity and entropy heed Him like well trained sheepdogs. Without beginning, without end, and without change. Praise Him!

And now He needs His mom to still His wailing in the night, needs the comfort of the womb in a tight wrap of cotton, needs His arms tucked in so He doesn’t scratch His face, needs her milk, her love, and her tenderness. Born into abject poverty, His first cries echoing in a barn, born to a life of misery, homelessness, and danger. And He needs, at that moment, His mom’s wrapping and cuddling love in the cold. 

No wonder they were singing and we still echo: Gloria in excelsis Deo – glory to God in the HIGHEST!!! Superlatives fail us! The angels are dumbfounded and amazed and marveling. They call us to the same response.

There are many joys and encouragements to faith in this story, and there’s a beautiful invitation to know Him. He’s so available. The one thing that strikes me, and astonishes my brain, is that He doesn’t despise our situation. He isn’t “too good” to be here with us, among us, and like us. He’s so good He jumps into our universe into the deep end for us. He’s so good He humbles Himself beyond even our expectations. He’s so good, the angels are besides themselves with wonder. 

Ask our Father to give us new wonder today, that by the Spirit we might glimpse what angels were stunned by – the highest glory of all glories, come to earth as a poor baby boy, to save a bunch of sinners who didn’t even care. What a God! What a Savior! What a Christmas joy! Praise Him!

Advent

The Secret Place

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But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
(Matthew 6:6, ESV)

Sometimes the exact words of Scripture, the turn of phrase that the writer used, can be startling. I often find some of the most beautiful truths in those texts, texts where the language suggests something strange and wonderful. Christ’s teaching on prayer is like that – especially here, where He tells us to go to the “secret” place.

I’d always thought of that practically – and that’s a good way to start. You should have a secret place, a place you meet with God and no one knows about it. He’s getting at our ancient sin there – to use our godliness or piety to try to impress folks. We are so tempted by that crime that He tells us to intentionally work against it. Sabotage your self righteousness! Do something for Him that no one sees, no one knows, and no one can be impressed by! No prayer posts here! God rewards that sort of invisible worship. Develop the habit of the “secret room” where you go to meet with God.

But the turn of phrase still catches me off guard. Jesus actually says go in secret, because that’s where God is, as if to say, “this is a secret place, so you should expect God to be hanging out here.” That’s odd. We all learned the game “hide and seek” when we were kids. Apparently it’s a favorite pastime of our Father too and not just 4 year old children. It’s as if to say to us all “ready or not, I’m waiting here for you.” That’s an absurdly precious promise itself, but now some of the oddness of this idea starts to hit us.

In Deuteronomy 29:29 there’s a strange passage on secrets. Moses tells us “the secret things belong to God, but the revealed things belong to us.” There’s all sorts of stuff that’s been revealed by God, but there’s even more that He hasn’t told us: when we’re going to die, what’s going to happen to our business or career, and how our kids will make it. Take your pick – we just don’t know what God has secretly decided about our lives, our generation, and this world. These are the secrets and they “belong to Him.” He controls them so they’re His property, His business. But do you see it? It’s so amazing! Here in Matthew Jesus is inviting us right into God’s secret business. The God “who is in secret” is this Father! The invitation to “secret” prayer, with the “secret” God, is nothing less than asking for input on His “secret” works!

Mary learned this with her own body, the shepherds learned it worshiping in a barn, the disciples learned it running naked into the night, and we learn it whenever we look at the cross.  God works in secret ways to reveal the surprise of His love and mercy! God works in secret to reverse what everyone else thinks will happen. His secrets are the defeat of man’s knowledge, cleverness, and power. His secrets bring new life out of death. The invitation to the secret room is nothing less than this: His personal invite into His joy and His plans and His decisions, to make His secrets ours. Go and pray today secretly. He’s there waiting. Praise Him!

Advent

Sure Rescue

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1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

(Psalm 42, ESV)

My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you

We all know what it feels like for the soul to be cast down.  What do you do when your soul is cast down? Where do you turn for comfort?  I know the places my heart goes when I’m feeling crushed, sad, or hopeless. I’ve worn easy, straight paths to anger, despair, and cynicism in my heart.

But this psalmist doesn’t turn to lesser comforts in a time of trial- he turns to God. This seems odd…it is God who has allowed His waves and breakers to crush this person.  They are left looking for God, with enemies taunting them besides! God allowed this person to experience great suffering, and then hid himself. But even so, the psalmist chooses to do what we talk about so often in advent: wait for God to show up.  The writer knows that the lesser comforts simply won’t do.

I like to imagine Adam reading this psalm.  Adam was not only cast out of God’s presence…he was justly and rightly cast out because he listened to the serpent!  Every wave and breaker from God was well deserved. But even in his immense guilt (it’s hard to imagine how immense), Adam had no choice but to wait for the God who he sinned against to rescue him.  There is no other rock, no other salvation, and no better comfort. And we also have no other sure salvation, no other hope than the rescue from our own sin: Christ the Messiah, the one Adam and the psalmist were both waiting for. May we turn to Him for comfort that nothing and no one else can provide.  Even if we must wait, His help is sure to come.