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24December
2019

Don’t Miss Christmas

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Advent, Blog, Christmas, Devotions, Discipleship, Gospel, Spiritual Encouragement
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Don’t Miss Christmas

By Michael Bowman

 

After All

 

O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the
brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known
the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him
perfectly in heaven; wherewith you and the Holy Spirit he
lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
 
 
Here we are at the culmination of the chaotic and craziness that is our consumeristic holiday season as we know it. We have come to the day that we have been anticipating and singing about. The day that we have been frantically buying gifts and wrapping them so that they can be torn into this morning and possibly even forgotten about this afternoon. It is Christmas.
 
In the midst of the cultural craziness, we chose throughout Advent to slow down and to pay attention to all that was happening around us and within us. We stopped “doing” and we began “waiting.” We were, of course, eagerly anticipating Christ’s coming, remembering he has already come and that he is coming again. And after all our waiting, Christ has come.
 

So, pause. Do not miss it.

 

 

The Birth, According to…

 

In our Bibles, we are fortunate to have four different Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. That is, four different narratives telling us about Jesus and the life he lived– all that he did and said. It is interesting, however, that only two of them actually give us an account of Jesus’ birth: Matthew and Luke. And even in these two gospel accounts, the birth narrative focuses more on those who actually took notice of the birth rather than the birth itself. 
 
This is significant. The authors want us to take notice of who it was that actually recognized that the Christ had come. Because it may not be exactly who we might have guessed. So who was it? Who were the ones who actually took notice that the Savior of the World had been born?
 
According to Luke, the only people who noticed were some shepherds sitting out in a field watching sheep do sheep things when an angel of the Lord showed up out of nowhere and began talking to them. Even if it was good news, this had to at least startle the shepherds. But then, as the angel told them about this baby that has been born, an entire angelic army appeared suddenly, shouting out, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (Luke 2:14 NRSV)
So the shepherds looked at one another (probably picking their jaws up off the ground) and said together, “We got to go to Bethlehem and see what this is all about.” (My translation of Luke 2:15-16.)
 
In Matthew’s account, we jump from an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph to some “wise men from the East” showing up in Jerusalem asking King Herod where this newborn “king of the Jews” is so that they may “pay him homage.” It needs to be noted that the word used in the Greek here for “homage” is translated throughout the New Testament as meaning to kneel or prostrate oneself in reverence or respect.
 

But who were these “wise men?”

 

 

We Three… Dudes?

 

 

These “wise men” or “magi” as most scholars agree are better referred to as astrologers. They were not kings, and there is no evidence that there were only three of them (don’t believe the Christmas carol.)

These men studied the stars, and in their studies, they had been led to believe that a great new leader had been born in Judea. Being “from the East,” these men were likely Gentiles. Fast forward in the story and we find these “wise men,” following a star (how’s that for a GPS?), arrived to see the newborn king, though he was no longer a newborn but a toddler close to the age of two. And as soon as they step into his presence, the men knelt down and worshipped Jesus, offering him gifts fit for a king. 
 
Now, why is it important we understand that in our two Gospel accounts that include a birth narrative, the only people who took notice of Jesus’ birth were some shepherds who were working a late shift and some Gentile star-gazers? 
 
Because seemingly everyone else missed it. 
 
Where were the priests? Where were the good, highly religious and ritually-pure folks? Where were those who never missed a prayer service? Where were those with “perfect attendance” in Sunday school? Honestly, where were the God-fearers? Where were those who knew their Scriptures, who memorized and followed their Torah? Do you mean to tell me that the ‘religious elite’ missed the birth of Jesus?
 

It can’t be more clear: they all missed it.

 

 

The Free Gift of Christmas

 

 

So, here is my plea for you (and me) this Christmas: let’s not miss it.
 
We know how chaotic this time of the year can be. We know how easy it can be to get swept up in the consumeristic cultural Christmas of our day. It is easy to even believe that Christmas is about gifts, receiving or giving, time with family or friends, or Santa Claus. It is easy to use the nostalgia that Christmas offers to escape the harsh and difficult realities in our daily lives. And all of this muddies the waters of what Christmas truly offers us. 
 
Christmas is a season of possibilities. 
 
In the middle of our distortions, God comes to us. At Christmas, we retell and remember the story of God coming unexpectedly as a baby born to a poor and lowly family…to a virgin and unwed mother…born homeless and born to die…so that the world might be made whole again. He came quietly, almost unnoticeably as we have seen, showing up in the middle of the everyday jumble and mess of life. His birth was easy to miss, even then.
 
May we not be those who miss it. The Creator of the universe, as Eugene Peterson translates the disciple John’s words, “became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” And with him came new possibilities for the dark world the moment he was born.
 
Christmas reveals that God comes for all people – those who are eagerly looking for him and even those who are not – offering new possibilities…offering new life. Light is now shining in the darkness, and the darkness did not and will not overcome it.
 
Jesus is here. Come now and adore Him.

 

 

Michael Bowman is the Student Minister at Christ Church UMC.  He is the grateful husband of Sara and dad to Grady. Michael earned his B.A. in Religious Studies from UT-Chattanooga, where he met Sara. He also holds a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Church Planting from Asbury Theological Seminary. Michael enjoys spending time with Sara, running, good coffee, reading, playing basketball, and playing with their two dogs, Gus and Lily. As a good Memphis native, Michael is an avid Memphis Grizzlies fan.

Follow him on Twitter: @bichaelmowman

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01December
2019

A Closer Look at Advent

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Advent, Blog, Christmas, Devotions, Gospel, Spiritual Encouragement
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By Michael Bowman

ADVENT… 

is the beginning of the Church year. It is our starting point.

Advent begins a six-month period of time where the Church focuses on and relives the story of Jesus.

 

Advent is a quiet season that invites every one of us to slow down. It is a season for fasting, for paying attention, for contemplation, and for preparation. It is a place in our American cultural calendars which comes just after Thanksgiving ends, and the world around us begins its frantic decorating, whirlwind of present-purchasing, and calendar-filling amounts of party-going. In the midst of all this, Advent offers us the opportunity to slow down and wait. But wait for what?

 

Each Advent we step back into the story of Jesus. We are reminded that the Savior of the world has come and He is coming again – by the way, Advent literally means “coming” or “arrival.” At Advent we wait with anticipation, with expectation, and we prepare for the coming of Jesus.

 

We remember that the Savior of the world came as a baby to a family that was not perfect, to a family like yours and mine that had its own scars and wounds that needed healing; families that, as my good friend Tom Fuerst once wrote, “only God could love.” (Fuerst, Underdogs and Outsiders)

 

Advent reminds us that our Savior loves being in the middle of all human activity, whether it be good or bad, clean or dirty, put together or falling apart, seeking redemption in each and every aspect of human life.

 

ADVENT IS A PARADOX 

Flannery O’Connor once wrote, “I think the Church is the only thing that can make our terrible world endurable and the only thing that makes the Church endurable is that it is somehow the Body of Christ and on that we feed.” Advent is meant to remind us that this is true, and it is a bit paradoxical. We make up this Body of Christ, yet we also make up this world. We are meant to be lights in a dark world, but often may only make things dimmer. And Advent is a season full of paradoxes.

 

John H. Westerhoff III has noted the paradoxes at play in Advent: “longing anticipation and patient watching; transforming the way we envision life and yet living prepared; waiting for what never seems to come and continuing in hopeful trust; desiring to give up control and opening ourselves to few possibilities for life.”

 

Even further, it offers a contradictory way of being in the midst of possibly our most chaotic and distracting season of life: the holidays.

 

As the world continues in its race of consuming more and doing more, with no end in sight, Advent invites us to try a different way. The holiday season brings with it an ever present reality of chaos and distraction. It brings with it bad memories, and reveals the hurts or wounds within our families or relationships. It throws in our faces false hopes and false joys with propositions of, “If you buy this you’ll be happy… if you get her this she will love you… if you spend time with those you love this holiday season then all the bad things in life will disappear…”

 

Advent reminds us of something more. Advent is a season where doing really isn’t allowed. We are not meant to “do.” During Advent, we are meant to “wait.” We wait and long for the coming of the One who will make all things new, who will wipe away every tear, who offers us real life (and life abundantly), who cares about our hopes and dreams, who truly sees us, truly knows us, and truly loves us simply for who we are. We can’t buy that like a present to fit perfectly under our will-trimmed tree. We can only wait.

 

Think about the paradox of Advent as good news. Jesus, the Savior of the world has come, and He is coming again.

 

THE INVITATION

Let me invite you, this Advent season, to slow down. Don’t give in to the chaos or the distractions. Find moments of silence throughout your day (for those of you like me, this sounds terrifying, so I get it.) Seek out moments of solitude where you can really reflect on what is going on within and around you.

 

I invite you this Advent season to be present – with yourself, with your surroundings, and with others. Pay attention. Pray. Meditate. Be vigilant and actively watch for Jesus. Listen to others around you really well. Be slow to speak. Slow down enough to get in touch with yourself again, with your hopes and dreams, your longings and desires. Take notice of these things.

 

Let us take this time to clean out the chaotic and disorderly parts of our endlessly busy lives and prepare for the coming of our Lord. Decorate. Be hospitable. Prepare for a party! Make way for coming of the Lord. The former things are passing a way, and all things are being made new.

 

Michael Bowman is the Student Minister at Christ Church UMC.  He is the grateful husband to Sara and dad to Grady. Michael earned his B.A. in Religious Studies from UT-Chattanooga, where he met Sara. He also holds a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Church Planting from Asbury Theological Seminary. Michael enjoys spending time with Sara, running, good coffee, reading, playing basketball, and playing with their two dogs, Gus and Lily. As a good Memphis native, Michael is an avid Memphis Grizzlies fan.

Follow him on Twitter: @bichaelmowman

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