Peace - Advent, Week 4 Reading 1

The week 4 candle for Advent is typically known as the Angel Candle. So we will open this week by reading some of the angelic announcements that are part of the Christmas story.

Luke 1:11-20 the angel’s announcement to Zechariah

Luke 1:26-38 the angel’s announcement to Mary

Luke 2:9-15 - the angel’s announcement to the shepherds

This week we light the candle known as the angel candle (according to one of the guides I came across anyway). This is the final week of the 4-week Advent. Some people continue to observe Advent until the celebration of the arrival of the wise men.

I love peace. It is one of the things that motivates me the most ... whatever it takes to arrive at peace, that's what I'll do. God is referred to many, many times in the Bible as the God of peace.

Advent, Week 4 - Peace

This week we light the candle known as the angel candle (according to one of the guides I came across anyway). This is the final week of the 4-week Advent. Some people continue to observe Advent until the celebration of the arrival of the wise men.

I love peace. And I love that angels are real. I was a bit stumped at the connection between the two, though. Our readings for today were Luke 1:11-20, 26-38, Matthew 1:20-25 and Luke 2:9-15 - basically all of the accounts of the angel's announcements to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds.

One of the angel's first words was always, "Don't be afraid". I suppose peace in a way is the absence of fear.

We'd probably all be afraid if we saw an angel. But why? We fear bad news, not good news so I guess we assume that if angelic heavenly being were to visit us, it's to give us bad news of some kind. After all, isn't that we all kinda deserve?

Anyway, the angel quickly put to rest any fear and dove right into the good news God sent them to share.

Yes, Jesus is good news. With His arrival, there could be reconciliation, peace, between God and man once again. God didn’t want us to wonder or be unaware. Each of the angel’s messages were very clear. Isn’t that in itself so good? It’s not God that makes things complicated, confusing or hidden. May we not complicate things or let other voices confuse us. Let's take God at His word and receive His peace offering.

Joy - Advent, Week 3 Reading 5

Luke 15:1-10

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."

This week, the advent theme was joy. Joy is the "the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune". We read about the joy the shepherds experienced when they were chosen for the angelic announcement that Jesus was born, and the joy that undeserving sinners experience when they are blessed and forgiven and accepted into God's Kingdom family. And we see how in each story, they want to share it with others. The shepherds quickly told others about what they had heard and seen. Mary also went to her older cousin Elizabeth to share in the joy of carrying the Messiah.

But now we turn to the joy God our Father feels that fills the heavens with a celebratory feast with all the angels joining in. And just like us, He wants to share His joy and invite others in to celebrate with Him.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories about someone finding something or someone that was lost, a sheep, a coin, a child, and the joy and celebration that ensued. In each case, the person who finds what they were looking for wants to rejoice with others. So we too, should invite others to join us in the celebration when we find The Good Thing - Jesus. I love how at our church, there is great applause and celebration as each person is baptized. When we are excited about something, we immediately feel compelled to share it with someone. These stories illustrate the joy and celebration that occurs in heaven when each person receives the salvation that Jesus makes possible.

Stop and imagine just for a minute the celebration when you were found, when you received salvation.

How many angels were there? What was the look on their faces? What sound do you hear? What food was part of the feast?

In the days to come, when circumstances discourage us and when our own thoughts want to drag us down into a pit, it will do us good to not only remember the joy our salvation brings to us but also the joy it brings to God and to heaven.

Joy - Advent, Week 3 Reading 4

Luke 5:27-32

verses 31-32 "Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent."

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek those who are lost."

1 Timothy 1:15 "This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" - and I am the worst of them all."

How much joy does it give us to receive a gift we don't think we need? or want? I've received a few gifts like this and it's always hard to know what to do with it. Usually it gets put in a drawer or closet for a few years before I finally either give it away or throw it away. I've also received gifts, like dishes and cutlery in high school that I was not joyful to receive at the time. Although it sat in my closet for a few years, eventually I came to really need them and enjoyed having them ready instead of having to buy some with my own money.

Salvation can be kind of like that. Although God's heart is that all are saved and reconciled to Him and offers it to everyone, (1 Timothy 2:4) many do not receive it. Some may think they don't need it or want it. Some may think they don't deserve it. But there it sits, ready...waiting for us to open and receive it when we finally realize our need for it.

Perhaps it's like someone who is suffering from a sickness. The medicine to cure it is available at no cost. It only needs to be opened and received. As soon as it is taken, it works immediately. What might keep someone from receiving a medicine that takes away their pain and suffering? Maybe they don't believe it will work. Maybe they tell themselves their pain isn't that bad. Or maybe they think they don't deserve to be healthy and whole. Maybe they think they can heal themselves.

Once salvation is received, God does all the work in forgiving, justifying, adopting and regenerating us. He even gives us Christ's righteousness like a robe. But it is the receiving where the wrestling often happens. How do we get to a place where we recognize we are sick and that we need a Savior? To a place where we believe what God says about us, our sickness, and what will make us well?

It's a painful reality that there are some that will refuse to see their need and accept the gift offered to them. But what joy it is for all who recognize their need and receive the greatest gift of all.

Share with others what helped you realize your need for Jesus and your journey in receiving it. Pray for someone you know has not yet received salvation.