This time of year is crazy isn't it. The stores are packed with procrastinators (I am the chief) rushing through the stores to find the right thing for a loved one. Restaurants are packed, as no one due to all the shopping has had time to cook a meal for themselves, the parking lots are filled with cars and everybody forgets how to drive, all in the name of finding a close spot. Bells jingle outside of stores, Christmas music plays through every speaker, the temperature drops a little to cold for comfort (below 70 for me). Christmas parties become an every other day occurrence, manger scenes and Santa Claus sleighs are found in every other neighbors yard, classes seem to loose focus, trading studying for watching Christmas movies unless you are taking or studying for an exam. Half-days, hanging out at the mall, relatives coming in town....
All of this comes together to form a chorus of busyness and clutter called Merry Christmas. For many people, this is the environment where they thrive. Excitement, a lot of people, something to celebrate. They are functioning in their sweet spot. I love Christmas time.... For others though it is a reminder of what used to be. Maybe Christmas finds a middle aged man without his Father for the first time, maybe a child for the first time splits Christmas at both mom's and dad's house (a reminder of the divorce), maybe a woman is forced to smile through the pain as she deals with a husband who has left her and the kids just in time for the holidays. Maybe a couple spends Christmas a thousand miles away from family for the first time. Maybe a high school girl remembers when her relationship with her dad was fun and misses it, maybe a middle school boy wishes he could still believe in innocence. Maybe a mom remembers when all the kids were home.....
You see Christmas can be the best of times for many people, but at the same time be the worst of times for others. It reminds me of a celebration we find in the scriptures. In Ezra chapters 2 and 3 we see thousands of Jews returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. This was a huge celebration, a returning of a nation back to God. The once strong nation was divided, scattered. They had not only wandered to far away lands, they had wondered far from God. They had taken foreign wives, worship idols and false Gods. But we see them returning back to God, returning back (baggage and all) to the place their fathers worshipped. On the same ground where the once mighty and proud Solomon's temple stood, the group of men built a foundation for the new temple. This is a time to celebrate! A time to shout for joy and sing! The temple restoration has begun and all Israel will have a house to worship Jehovah God again! The trumpets raise, the shouts for joy explode, but in the midst of the celebration there were many tears. For in the crowd the priest of old wept aloud because the temple was not even a shade of it's former glory. The priest remembered the glory of the Temple and the proud landmark it was to the whole world. But now a scattered people have come together and what they are building is smaller, less grand, and not as they remembered. People shouting for joy, right next to people weeping in discouragement and pain. Sounds a lot like Christmas. Well as this time of year is upon us keep in mind that your shouts for joy might be drowning out the weeping of a classmate a friend, or a co-worker. Maybe it is you who is weeping and it seems like nobody understands because we are all supposed to be JOLLY!!! Know that though this time of year is tough God is calling us to be restored back to Him. Take this time to worship Him even though things are maybe not what they used to be. Maybe you have to share Christmas at two homes, maybe your brother or sister is no longer around, maybe your son can't make it home this year. Through the tears I pray that you can find Joy this Christmas. You see that temple built in Ezra is the same temple that Jesus Himself walked in, worshipped in and cleansed 500 years later. Living in Ezra's time it was hard for those priests to understand why it wasn't going to be the same as it used to be. You see, that new temple also fell to ruins in AD 70. I guess things are not always what they seem. Sometimes we cry about things and later we can look back on them and smile. When I see this story in Scripture I think about my life. How Christmas used to be a tough time for me in my life. We had some tough times at Christmas, but today as the same day approaches I smile knowing that I now know the God of Christmas. When I sing Silent Night, I know the child from the song. When I see the tree, I think of the cross. When I give or receive a present, I know the real gift.
If only those priest who wept at the restoration knew that the true temple (Jesus) would be torn down and raised back in three days for the salvation of mankind (John 3:19). That Jehovah would no longer be known to only them but to all mankind. I pray that today each of us would encourage those who are weeping this time of year.....and if we are the ones weeping that we would be able to wipe away our tears and shout for Joy! For the glory of the Temple is eternal and alive in our hearts today even though life might not be exactly as we had hoped.
All of this comes together to form a chorus of busyness and clutter called Merry Christmas. For many people, this is the environment where they thrive. Excitement, a lot of people, something to celebrate. They are functioning in their sweet spot. I love Christmas time.... For others though it is a reminder of what used to be. Maybe Christmas finds a middle aged man without his Father for the first time, maybe a child for the first time splits Christmas at both mom's and dad's house (a reminder of the divorce), maybe a woman is forced to smile through the pain as she deals with a husband who has left her and the kids just in time for the holidays. Maybe a couple spends Christmas a thousand miles away from family for the first time. Maybe a high school girl remembers when her relationship with her dad was fun and misses it, maybe a middle school boy wishes he could still believe in innocence. Maybe a mom remembers when all the kids were home.....
You see Christmas can be the best of times for many people, but at the same time be the worst of times for others. It reminds me of a celebration we find in the scriptures. In Ezra chapters 2 and 3 we see thousands of Jews returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. This was a huge celebration, a returning of a nation back to God. The once strong nation was divided, scattered. They had not only wandered to far away lands, they had wondered far from God. They had taken foreign wives, worship idols and false Gods. But we see them returning back to God, returning back (baggage and all) to the place their fathers worshipped. On the same ground where the once mighty and proud Solomon's temple stood, the group of men built a foundation for the new temple. This is a time to celebrate! A time to shout for joy and sing! The temple restoration has begun and all Israel will have a house to worship Jehovah God again! The trumpets raise, the shouts for joy explode, but in the midst of the celebration there were many tears. For in the crowd the priest of old wept aloud because the temple was not even a shade of it's former glory. The priest remembered the glory of the Temple and the proud landmark it was to the whole world. But now a scattered people have come together and what they are building is smaller, less grand, and not as they remembered. People shouting for joy, right next to people weeping in discouragement and pain. Sounds a lot like Christmas. Well as this time of year is upon us keep in mind that your shouts for joy might be drowning out the weeping of a classmate a friend, or a co-worker. Maybe it is you who is weeping and it seems like nobody understands because we are all supposed to be JOLLY!!! Know that though this time of year is tough God is calling us to be restored back to Him. Take this time to worship Him even though things are maybe not what they used to be. Maybe you have to share Christmas at two homes, maybe your brother or sister is no longer around, maybe your son can't make it home this year. Through the tears I pray that you can find Joy this Christmas. You see that temple built in Ezra is the same temple that Jesus Himself walked in, worshipped in and cleansed 500 years later. Living in Ezra's time it was hard for those priests to understand why it wasn't going to be the same as it used to be. You see, that new temple also fell to ruins in AD 70. I guess things are not always what they seem. Sometimes we cry about things and later we can look back on them and smile. When I see this story in Scripture I think about my life. How Christmas used to be a tough time for me in my life. We had some tough times at Christmas, but today as the same day approaches I smile knowing that I now know the God of Christmas. When I sing Silent Night, I know the child from the song. When I see the tree, I think of the cross. When I give or receive a present, I know the real gift.
If only those priest who wept at the restoration knew that the true temple (Jesus) would be torn down and raised back in three days for the salvation of mankind (John 3:19). That Jehovah would no longer be known to only them but to all mankind. I pray that today each of us would encourage those who are weeping this time of year.....and if we are the ones weeping that we would be able to wipe away our tears and shout for Joy! For the glory of the Temple is eternal and alive in our hearts today even though life might not be exactly as we had hoped.
1 comments:
How true. Thanks for reminding us of the One who makes Christmas joyful. Life, including Christmas, without Jesus is lonely and empty. I am so thankful that in Christ I can celebrate and be joyful no matter the circumstances! Thank you Jesus for your life, your death, and your resurrection!
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