“In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us.” – Luke 1:79
Dear Saints, Are you ready? Just hearing those three words around the holidays is enough to send us into a panic. There is so much to get ready in preparation for special meals, house guests, events and celebrations. If you’re like me, your mental checklist has been overloaded, so you turn to physical checklists to make sure everything gets done this time of year. During the season of Advent, preparation is on everyone’s mind. We don’t cruise casually into Christmas, we grab the season by the horns and approach it head-on.
As we round the corner from the first to the second week of Advent, we hear Zecharaiah’s song from the Gospel of Luke: “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.” What’s coming at Christmas is not just a cute baby in a manger, but the dawning of a new day – one where God is not only for us, but God is with us. God With Us, Emanuel, is coming in Jesus, and it’s time to prepare. We prepare our homes and our sanctuaries to celebrate the fact that in Jesus, a new day has broken for us and that things will never be the same. The new day Jesus ushers in is one where we have access to the divine spirit here on earth, no matter where we’re from, what we’ve done or what’s been done to us. Emanuel brings heaven to earth in a way that is accessible to all.
This amazing gift that comes at Christmas is the epicenter of our Christian faith. And I love the descriptive words Zechariah’s song uses surrounding this gift of God. He says that the dawning of this new day will come “in the tender compassion” of God. It doesn’t come in power, might in glory; it comes instead in tenderness and compassion. instead of with a blaze of glory, this precious gift comes with the tenderness of a mother holding her child and with the compassion of one who reaches out to touch lepers. As we find ourselves in this mad rush to “prepare” everything for the holiday season, let’s keep these words in mind: tenderness and compassion. How can we be tender to those who are feeling raw or wounded this season? How can we show compassion for those who may feel stressed or harried during this time?
Author and theologian Kat Bowler offers a blessing for Christians during advent:
Blessed are you, agreeing to stand still long enough to let your eyes adjust to the darkness
until the starlight begins to appear, the dawning of God’s promises.
In that gentle light, find a corner of your heart where hope can stay protected.
A place from which we can nurture a little gratitude, a little compassion, enough to go around.
May the God of peace guard your hearts during this busy season so that you may shine that “gentle light” on those who so desperately need it!
+ Pastor Ginger +
