Yesterday was the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, where we witnessed the candle of love being lit. And we were reminded that the love we celebrate at Christmas is more than feelings of affection for one another or nostalgia around Christmas time. We celebrate the arrival of love himself!
Listen carefully to what the apostle John writes in 1 John 4:7-12.
"God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:8b-12).
What is love (so the famous song asks)? John tells us it is God sending the greatest gift of all – his very self – to be with us and to give up his life so that we could have life in him. This is the love we celebrate at Advent – the giving of God's very self. Because he came, we are now able to know his love for us with certainty. And not only that, but we are empowered by him to love others in the same way – by giving ourselves for the sake of the other.
This is why the way we practiced love in our time of gathered worship yesterday was to embrace one another by hugging or shaking each other's hand. Because this is a physical representation of what love looks like. To love is not just to give kind words, or gifts, but to give our very self. This week's practices call us to continue this pattern of receiving the gift of God's love and giving ourselves for the sake of others through SACRIFICE. Have courage to enter into these more challenging practices, remembering that as John says, "if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us!"
- Consider sacrificing your comfort this Christmas by inviting someone to the table who you wouldn't normally. Give that person the gift of being able to share Christmas with you and your family.
- Next time you are at the store, purchase a handful of gift cards to keep in your wallet so you can give one to the next homeless/needy person you encounter.
- Next time you share a meal with others, choose to leave the best/biggest food portion or dessert for someone else. If you have kids, invite them to do the same.
- Take time this week to visit or call someone you know who is lonely in this season and give them the gift of your presence and full attention.
- Invite a friend who doesn't normally attend church to come with their family to one of our Christmas Eve services, even if you feel like it might be awkward.
- Take time this week to read (and re-read) the following passages about love and worship:
- Matthew 2. What do you notice about the way the magi/wise men respond when they encounter baby Jesus? How does this inspire you in your own response to Jesus?
- Romans 12. What do you think Paul means by "offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God?" (See the Message paraphrase of Romans 12:1-2 for a rich understanding of this phrase!) Which of Paul's exhortations about loving one another speaks to you most as something God might be calling you to focus on in this season?
With the four candles now lit, we wait in eager anticipation for the lighting of the final candle – the Christ candle – as we gather to celebrate our Saviour's birth tomorrow evening. May we keep vigil and prepare our hearts for this joyful time of receiving Christ together.
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