“But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth His Son,
born of woman, born under the law,
to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons”- Galatians 4:4-5
The coming of Christ into the world has changed everything for us who believe in Him! That’s what we’re here to celebrate this morning. And really, it’s what we come together to celebrate every Sunday – or at least it should be. But there is something very special about our celebration when we get this close to Christmas Day. I’m not even sure exactly what it is. For some, it could be a matter of tradition – many have fond memories of Christmases gone by. It could be the anticipation of getting together with family and friends to exchange gifts (though circumstances this year may have put a damper on that for some). But for us who truly belong to Christ, it is a time of joy as we think about Him!
One of the things I love to think about this time of year as the light of day grows dim and the cold seems to cover everything, is how Christ’s coming broke through the darkness of this cold world to bring in light and life to all who receive Him. We’ll see a picture of that in this morning’s message from Luke 2:21-35. Simeon was a man who waited patiently for the day of Christ’s coming. And when he saw that he had finally come, he embraced the infant Jesus with great joy telling everyone who would hear that Messiah was here! God’s promise had been kept! And now, the light would shine so that people from every nation, tribe and tongue might come to know the warmth of the Father’s love That’s a story worth hearing again! It’s a story worth telling everyone about!
I said last week that, just as at Easter we proclaim that “He is Risen! He is risen indeed!” So I think here at Christmas we ought to shout the good news as well that “Christ has come! He has come indeed!” And that changes everything!
Rejoicing in the good news that He is here!
Pastor Scott Lee