Article for Bella Vista Weekly/Dec. 12th
Submitted by Rev. Sue Metcalf
Forest Hills Church, Bella Vista
Nov. 27, 2012
Gathered Around a Promise
There are many gatherings happening during this month of December.
Many of them centered around the celebration of the Christmas season.
Children all around the world are waiting in anticipation of that big day,
Christmas morning and they will gather around the tree to see what gifts they
received. Christmas is all about the promise of the coming Messiah whom
God had promised his people so long ago. Today we gather to celebrate the
great event of Jesus’ birth, to a young virgin named Mary. The people of God
waited for many years for the Messiah to come, and God kept His promise
and when He sent Jesus to be Emmanuel – God with us.
Sadly, the true reason for this season has come under attack by many
who would want the celebration of Christmas to be about everything but
Jesus. People make it about politically correct greetings, shopping, eating,
and even the morally good intent of giving to others. Some would like
Christmas to become just another generically celebrated holiday, but the
“Reason” for the season is Jesus and it always will be to those who gather
around the promises of God. Maybe it is that those outside the Christian faith
are afraid of the reason Christians gather – which today is the promise of the
return of Jesus. You see, just as the people of Israel waited and prayed for
God to send them the Messiah – which God fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
The people of God today are waiting and praying – gathering in Jesus’ name
around the promise that He will return one day to set things right in this
crazy mixed up world. Maybe their fear of who Jesus is, is what has them in
a tizzy. Some say it is because we are not tolerant of other faiths, that is not
so. Christmas is about Jesus’ birth and no one else’s. It began as and is a
Christian holiday, just as Hanukkah is a Jewish Holiday, just as Kwanzaa is
an African-American celebration of unity and ‘first-fruits’ held on Dec. 26th
in America.
Those who anticipate and are waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled
gather around the promised coming of Jesus then and yet to come. We
celebrate God’s goodness in who Jesus is, and what He has done for us by
becoming a man and walking among us, for taking the penalty for our sins
and conquering death with His resurrection. Let us keep Jesus at the center of
Christmas. Remember that obedient waiting for God’s will and gathering
around the promises of God is what a faithful disciple does.
The Christmas story is one of love shared and each person’s response
to that gift of love. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that
whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). If
God had a Christmas wish list, it would be that everyone would receive His
Son as their Savior and Lord this year. Believers all over the world gather
around the promises of God which are true and sure. For God’s Word is
Good News to those who are living in fear, for those who are living in
despair. Jesus whose birth we celebrate at Christmas is the one who
overcame the things that bring us fear, despair and separation from God.
Celebrate the promise of Jesus this year and keep Jesus as the reason for the
season! Pray hard and keep the faith!
Pastor Sue Metcalf