From the Pastor |
Jeremiah 33: 14-16 & Psalm 33
Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free…” For many of us, these words are a very familiar part of the Advent Season. The season of Advent, which gets its name from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming" or "visit," takes us from the fourth Sunday before Christmas (aka today) all the way to Christmas Eve. It is the time when we prepare for the Advent… the coming of Christ. It is during this time that we remember the longing… the desire that the people of Israel had for the coming of the Messiah…. The promised one of God who would lead Israel into times of blessing and promise… of justice and righteousness. The very one that Jeremiah spoke of: “In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.” “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free…” The people of Israel, God’s Chosen People, had awaited the coming of the Messiah for centuries… He would be the one to set the people free from tyranny and reestablish Israel as a mighty nation once again. The anointed one of God was truly long-expected. As followers of Christ… we… like Charles Wesley when he wrote the words in 1744: “Come, thou long expected Jesus born to set thy people free…” We know that Jesus was the long expected… greatly anticipated Messiah… the branch from David’s line… It is the birth of Jesus the Christ that has provided a hope that has endured for over 2000 years. We remember the longing of Jews for a Messiah and our own longing for and need of forgiveness, salvation and a new beginning as we prepare to celebrate the fact that the Messiah came as a baby born in Bethlehem so very long ago. That baby… “born a child and yet a king”… was the realization of all the hopes and dreams of God’s people for a Messiah… and he was our own source of redemption and salvation. However… this song is not simply a Christmas hymn… it truly is a perfect hymn for the season of Advent because the opening words, “Come, thou long-expected Jesus”, not only point to the events of the past, but looks forward to the future. And that was Wesley’s intent. He found the homelessness, and poverty of 18th century England very upsetting. He recognized the division between the classes where, even within the church, there was so often a callous indifference to the suffering of the lower classes. So, Wesley wrote this hymn to express not only joy of Christ’s birth that we celebrate at Christmas, but also to express the tremendous hope for the world as we wait for Christ to come again and set all things right. Part of the inspiration for this hymn comes from the Prophet Haggai 2:7 which reads: “I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.” We hear this hope in the words: “Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.” Advent beckons us to look beyond the manger to the glorious future as we anticipate Christ’s return as the fulfillment of all of the promises of God. Followers of Christ have been made into new creations through our faith and by the grace of God, and now we look forward to the time when Christ comes again, to make all things new. The pain of loss, the poverty and sickness of this world, every rebellion against our Lord, has an expiration date, known only to God. This is the sure hope that filled Wesley when he put his pen to paper and created this beautiful hymn… it is the same hope we share with all Christians everywhere this day. But Advent, and Wesley’s hymn… also reminds us that we need to always look inward. We need this season to remember that Jesus is the fulfillment of all our own longings and desires. “From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.” Jesus is the Hope, the dear desire and the “joy of every longing heart.” Our reality is that there are times when we all are burdened with fears and worries… but it is Jesus who comes to free us from those things… and not only our fears and worries… but he comes to free us from sin and death as well, reuniting us to God… restoring us to a good and right relationship with the creator of all… opening the way for us to return to our true home... the kingdom of God. Which leads us to remember that our faith and hope needs to flow outward as well. Jesus is Our King… “born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.” While the Lord came to be Emmanuel… God with us back then… not to reign within us in isolation… not to rule over us individually, but to reign openly and publicly in the world and we long for the day when his kingdom will reign on earth as it is in heaven: “now thy gracious Kingdom bring.” Charles Wesley longed for the true King to come to set all things right. To not only give us rest personally, but to bring restoration to the world… and like Wesley, we are called to be Christ’s physical body in the world… to be a part of all that he is doing. We know this from the fact that Christ not only came into the world some 2000 years ago… and Christ will not only come again in the future… but Christ is with us now through the ever-present power of the Holy Spirit. “By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.” Christ has Come… Christ IS come and Christ will come again. So look to Jesus with great hope this Holiday season because he truly is the hope of the world. Let us take time to prepare our hearts and minds and look to Jesus with the same kind of expectation filled hope that the prophets had when they looked forward to the birth of the promised Messiah. Let’s look to Jesus — our Savior and King — the hope of the world. For as the psalmist wrote: “the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” As this season of Advent begins I encourage you to take some time to reflect on where you place your faith and hope. What will you put your hope in this Holiday season? Will you focus your heart and mind on the only hope that’s sure to last… the hope offered to us in our Savior who was born in Bethlehem… the One who is the hope of the world… the hope that’s found in Jesus. “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.”
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Yeon Shin
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