Cornerstone Mission Church - Christmas Message on 12/25/2008
My sister’s family treated us to few days up in Wisconsin Dells to one of the indoor water theme parks. We made it there on Monday evening. And, I took my kids and my sister kids to water raft rides. I don’t know if you’ve been to one of those indoor water rides, but it is quite amazing. You go up what must be endless stairs for few minutes and finally get to the top where you get to descend on a round shaped raft down through a tube; well it is all over in 10’s of seconds. The tube begins inside the building, winds down outside the building, and finally enters back into the building. And, the raft simply winds down inside and through the tube and dumps you on the lower pool.
I’ve never been on these things at night, not alone on one of the coldest winter days thus far. As soon as raft takes off in splash, it quickly descends down inside a tube and in a matter of a second or so you are in this complete pitch darkness that blinds you and disorients you. And because you are in this pitch darkness, you cannot anticipate turns. And, you end up feeling dizzy… Well, I tried to be tough and I am sure none of the kids knew how I felt. But, I tell you, all I wanted after few twists and turns in pitch darkness inside the tube was a glimmer of light. That’s all I needed to get myself together, just a flicker of light at the end of the tube.
The absolute worse was when I sat down with my back facing downward. Something about going downward with quick twists and turns in complete darkness made me feel dizzy and nauseated. In complete darkness, I just couldn’t get my sense of direction. Man, did I want that light or what? Just to think about it gives me headache and makes me all dizzy. Kids were just fine. Perhaps, this is a sign of my aging. Now, don’t go around thinking that I was afraid of the ride, because I wasn’t, all right? Uh hum! I just didn’t like how riding down in pitch darkness made me feel all disoriented, dizzy and even nauseated. What made it all better was when there was light; it helped me regain my sense of direction.
Today’s world feels like descending down inside a pitch dark tube in a raft with your back facing downward. No one ever imagined just a year ago, or even six months ago, we will be where we are today with economic downturn. Some think that we haven’t hit the bottom yet. Other words, expect more bad news ahead of us well into the year 2009, perhaps stock market hitting 6000 level, rising unemployment rate at all time high, credit woes, businesses suffering. Then, there are two wars that our nation has been fighting. Although scaling down the military deployment is a possibility in Iraq, situations in Afghanistan are getting worse; it demands more troops and fear of repeating Russia’s unsuccessful occupation in Afghanistan is real. And, if you didn’t know already the long time dictator president Lansana Conte of Guinea died last Monday prompting unrest and another military coup. It is potentially explosive situation. Our Sarah and others who planned to take off for a Vision Trip with Teachus Mission to Guinea cannot leave any more. The world we live in today feels like dizzy, disoriented and discouraging downward descent inside a pitch dark tube with unexpected twists and turns. And, it is now more than any other time in recent history when people are looking for the real source of hope, the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
For the Israelites, they felt like they were in this pitch dark and dizzying and discouraging descent when they were deported from the Promised Land as captives into the exile. There in the foreign land, Isaiah 52:7 lets us know that they yearned for good news who would proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Down the pitch dark tube of descent under the rules of foreign kings of Babylon, what else could be constituted as good news, then to hear, “Your God reigns!” So, they yearned for the Lord to return (8), to comfort his people (9b), to redeem Jerusalem (9c); they yearned to see the salvation of… God (10). And, they heard good news, “you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be you rear guard.” Thus, they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. No longer were they confounded and disheartened in the pitch dark tube of descent for the Lord returned. So, there was this great celebration of God’s coming, God breaking into their wasted places of Jerusalem.
This coming of the Lord, breaking into the world of the exiles foreshadowed the coming of God in Christ Jesus. John puts it this way in 1:9, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world,” the world wrapped up in the pitch dark tube of descent. It came about when the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14), the Word, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth, his name is Immanuel, “God with us,” Jesus Christ! As it was when the LORD went before the Israelites and was their rear guard, it is Jesus who lights the way for us. Jesus is the light that stops the pitch dark tube of descent.
When apostle Paul asks this question in Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” he doesn’t assume that we Christians would be shielded from the pitch dark tube of descent. But, what he says is although we may be considered as sheep to be slaughtered… we are more than conquerors through him who loved us, namely Jesus Christ (36-37). His conviction is this, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
So, this morning, be encouraged, be strengthened in Christ’s advent. He came because he loves you. God’s plan is not to take away every problem and pain you are facing today as so many of us falsely hope for. No, he has better plan than zapping away our problems and pains. His plan is to make us warriors, conquerors, overcomers in the love of Jesus Christ. That is what Advent of Christ means today!
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