The Day of Christmas Revelation 21:1-7 (NRSV) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, See, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true. 6 Then he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. Christmas is a time when God keeps his promises, when his word is heard on earth as in heaven, and everyone and everything stops, if only for this moment, to notice the wonderful eerie sensation of God’s truth coming to light, of God’s love coming to life, and of God himself coming to us in the flesh. Today, Isaiah’s promise of Emmanuel (God with us) has come to pass, is come, is now. History (His Story/God’s story) has come full circle: Alpha and Omega/beginning and ending/Christmas and Easter revolving around each other so fast one cannot tell where the one starts and the other stops. What begins in a stable manger ends on a palace throne. What seemed to end with a spear-pierced side now begins anew with a gown-adorned bride. God is getting married this morning, John tells us, and setting up housekeeping. “The home of God is among mortals,” which means that, while Heaven may seem a far cry from this earth, God the groom has come near as a Bethlehem stable (or a Newberry garage) to end for good all the crying; and to sweep us up in his arms, and, like a prince in a fairy tale, whisk us off to paradise to live free of all mortal pain—anew and beloved and happily ever after. That’s the gift for you and me, the gift under the tree known as Calvary? Merry Christmas and a Happily Ever After! Let us pray: We rejoice this festival day in your gracious embrace, claiming us as the ones with whom you choose to spend eternity. As you have made us your beloved, may we be faithful in our relationship with you. In the name of our mangered Messiah we pray, Amen. (Rev. Dr. Wayne Kannaday, Professor of Religion)
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 15:26:37 +0000
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