In celebration of Christmas and the soon-to-be-released Forgetting the Fairy Tale Companion Guide, I thought I would offer a sample. I hope the reminder sets a peaceful tone for your upcoming celebrations. Merry Christmas!
Session 7: To Have and To Hold & Love Has Come
Advent.
So much truth packed into six little letters. Waiting. Expectation. Season. Hope. Arrival. Imagination.
Elizabeth understood the waiting and waning of hope. The tears every month when her bleeding began. The stabbing pain of judgment from the women around her. It had been drilled into them—the good are blessed and the bad have God’s blessing removed from them. No baby, no blessing.
The Israelites understood Advent. For 400 years they waited on a word from God. For centuries a Messiah had been prophesied. Yet still, they waited. During this time the Medes, Persians, and Babylonians made way for the Greek Empire and then the Roman Empire. The Hebrew Scriptures were translated into the Greek Septuagint and easily accessible to everyone. The stage was set—and still, they waited.
Joseph understood Advent. Before he could take Mary as his wife, he had to prepare for her coming. A room had to be built for their sleeping quarters. A home had to be prepared. His finances must be in order and a wedding planned. Joseph was quite familiar with expectant hope for the future.
Mary had spent her life in Advent. Jewish women were trained early for marriage and motherhood. Learning how to care for a household. Managing time and resources when there never seemed to be enough of either. The end of Mary’s Advent season did not culminate in a wedding as she expected, but a birth announcement. A change of direction so abrupt and all-encompassing nothing on earth would ever be the same again—for anyone.
Advent finds its origin in Latin meaning, “arrival” from the combination of two words meaning “to” plus “come.”1 So much more was coming in this season than a pair of baby boy cousins. The end of 400 years of silence. A new covenant. A new dispensation. A new understanding of the law. An introduction to grace. A new prophet carrying the message of a new kingdom—and a new King. The Messiah.
We like to think of Elizabeth, Zachariah, Mary, and Joseph like characters in a play. They each have their parts to say, dressed in their bathrobes and stage makeup. When the baby is born and the shepherds go home, we do too. Packing up the gifts and decorations for another year. But the real focus of the story isn’t the angels, a straw-filled manger, and a newborn. It’s God.
God who existed before time and space. God who created the heavenly host and the heavens themselves. God who designed every petal on every flower and every spinning galaxy. He is the story. He is the author and the main character. And when He determined the time was right, He set aside His glory and became a growing mass of cells within a woman’s body.
Advent. I Am. The beginning and the end colliding into the now.
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:10-11, ESV)
Mary and Elizabeth had important roles to play, just as you and I do today. But our lives pale in comparison to the One who has always lived. While modern philosophies encourage “I Am” as a motto for improved self-image, losing ourselves in the endless depths of the true I AM is the only way to unfiltered, unshakeable identity. Mary and Elizabeth both understood this as they submitted to the life-altering tasks of preparing for and protection of the Messiah.
It is easy for us to forget the I Am in the midst of our To Do. He whispers while our circumstances shout. But taking time to be present with Him is vital. His coming should impact every moment of our lives, not just the month before Christmas.
For every cry, there is one answer: I need help. I AM. I need hope. I AM. Who could possibly be smart enough to figure this out? I AM. What works? I AM. What lasts? I AM. What’s the latest thing? I AM. What’s the hippest thing? I AM. I need a fresh start. I AM. I need a bigger story. I AM. My vision is bigger than my resources. I AM. Nothing’s real anymore. I AM. Who can I trust? I AM. I’m not sure who’s on my team. I AM. Nobody’s listening to me. I AM. I don’t have a prayer. I AM. My marriage is sinking and I don’t know where to turn. I AM. I can’t hold on. I AM. My kids deserve more. I AM. I’m pouring into others, who’s pouring into me? I AM. If we fail, who will get the job done? I AM. I’m not sure why I’m here. I AM. I’ve given all I can give and it’s not enough. I AM. I’m tired. I AM. I quit! I AM. I need a drink. I AM. I need a fix. I AM. I need a lover.
I AM. Somebody just hold me. I AM.2 – Louie Giglio
Just as Love came into the lives of poor teenagers in Nazareth, He is coming again. In a blaze of glory, He is coming to rid the world of sin and set creation right again.
Until then, we must wait in the same hopeful anticipation of Elizabeth and Mary. We must take every fear, every doubt and lay them in the hands of the great I Am. He was and He will be…but He also is…right now, holding you in the midst of your homework, heartbreak, and dinner dishes. He is asking you to believe in His plan for you. Inviting you to walk with Him as you wait—from this day forward.