The Canadian Baptist 2017 Advent Reader

ADVENT READER

2017

SEASONS GREETINGS Many thanks to our Canadian Baptist family for contributing to this year's Advent Reader.

The Canadian Baptist Advent Reader is an annual tradition!

Each year, we find writers from across the Canadian Baptist family, from the east coast to the west coast and everything in between.

This year’s Advent reader focuses on three questions: Who is Christ? Who are we in Christ? What is His kingdom?

Cover: pixabay.com / CC0 Creative Commons License

Advent Reader is printed on 100% recycled paper.

dear fellow canadian baptists, Each year as Advent begins I find that I’m full of awe and wonder.

Awe and wonder.

That powerful and divine moment in Bethlehem has given meaning and purpose to millions of disciples throughout the centuries and continues to bring us hope and confidence in our daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflects that "No priest, no theologian stood at the cradle of Bethlehem. And yet, all Christian theology finds its beginnings in the miracle of miracles, that God became human."

This Advent, may the incarnated Christ come alive to you in the reflections that follow. May you in some supernatural way feel a connection to the characters in this miraculous story of God’s love for us, God’s children.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Tim McCoy, Executive Minister, CBOQ Kingsway Baptist Church, Toronto, ON

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DECEMBER 3 john 1:29-34 We see and hear a lot about Jesus at this time of year—or, at least, about “Baby Jesus,” in the manger, with the angels, shepherds and animals. I remember one Christmas, a neighbour told me about a Nativity that she had seen with snowmen figurines instead of people and animals. Her comment was, “It can’t be sacrilegious; it’s so cute!”

With all of the cuteness, all of the traditions that are a mix of scripture and pop culture (I’ve seen Nativity scenes with Santa beside the manger), all of the marketing, preparations and expectations, people get confused about the question, “Who is this Jesus?”

The Gospel of John the Apostle starts far from “cute.” He takes us back to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning…” and then points us directly at Jesus, who was with God and who was God, when the world was brought into existence.

Then John the Apostle introduces us to John the Baptist, who speaks boldly, saying, “You’re looking for God’s Chosen One? Well it’s not me! It’s Jesus.”

John the Baptist saw and spoke about Jesus: “… this is God’s Chosen One.” Or as many manuscripts record, “this is God’s Son.” Clarity. And because John has such clarity about who Jesus is, he has clarity about who he is, and about what his job is. And he says all of it without apology, and without mincing his words.

This Advent season, in the midst of everything “Christmas,” let’s say with John the Baptist, “I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Son!”

Pastor Eric Brooks, CBWC Strathcona Baptist Church, Edmonton, AB

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DECEMBER 4 john 15:4-6 Once there was a beautifully designed lamp crafted in a famous artist’s workshop. This desk lamp was admired for its elegant carving and painted surface. Sitting in the gallery, visitors poured out compliments and the lamp became proud. When the artist was ready to have the electrician light the lamp, the lamp refused, confident in its own beauty. Unable to shine, the lamp was quickly discarded.

In our daily self-sufficiency, we miss out in our Creator’s original purpose and settle for an uninspired life. Had the lamp been restored by an electrician, it would have experienced the electrical surge running into his core, the warmth of this power source, and the immediate glow of its surrounding. This lamp would have been transformed from a decorative piece into a source of light.

Jesus invites us today, “Remain in me.” He is the source of life – nourishing our soul with his living water and providing us with the essential nutrients to help us grow spiritually. As our reading reveals, Jesus is the vine with roots deeply attached to the soil. The branch is dependent on the vine to survive.

Severed from the vine, in time, the branch experiences hunger, desperation and eventually death.

This Christmas, let us remain in Christ, the source of our light.

Pastor Karen Wong, CBOQ Montréal City West Baptist Church, QC

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DECEMBER 5 matthew 11:28-30 Have you ever been introduced to someone in such a way that you yourself don’t even recognise whom they are talking about? To do the same to Jesus is not only dangerous, but also discouraging. Our Lord has just introduced himself as the only One who truly knows, and has authority to make known, the Father, whom to know is life eternal. This is blunt – here is no ‘Jesus to please us.’

But what does the man with authority say next? It is both a command and an invitation. He bids the heavy laden to come to him, to exchange our burdens for his. It is an invitation to rest; it is a command to follow. In Christ, the command is always accompanied by the presence of the King. Thus, our new burden is taken up as a yoke to our Saviour in which we walk together. This is a King who carries. He has carried—alone—our sin, our guilt, our sentence of death. He now commands us to the burden of life now rendered easy and light because it is carried with him. God came into the world in the man Christ Jesus that he might confer his burden, the Way of Life, upon us, and then as a man, as we are men and women, carry it with us.

May we, this Advent, prepare to meet, perhaps anew, afresh, not a Jesus to please us, but our Lord as he is, the One who frees us with his glad burden and pleasant yoke.

Rev. Gordon L Belyea, UÉBFC Église Évangélique Baptiste d’Ottawa, ON

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DECEMBER 6 john 6:34-36 I grew up on my mother’s home-made bread — wholesome, sustaining bread for daily sandwiches; delicious cinnamon-nut rolls as a weekly treat that made Sunday extra-special; and sweet Russian Easter bread, richly yellow with eggs, marking the annual celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. But in our contemporary Canadian culture, obsessed with food fads, we tend to forget that for millennia, bread really was the staff of life—as it still is for millions of people around the world.

When Jesus claimed that he was the “bread of life”, his original listeners would have immediately recognized the importance of the statement.

At the centre of the Christian faith is bread—a shared meal, first comprised of unleavened bread eaten on the night before God led his people out of slavery into freedom, and later shared among Jesus and his closest followers on the night before he bought our freedom from death, fear, and the slavery of sin.

At the centre of the Christian faith is the Bread of Life, who gives us eternal life as well as the nourishment we need to sustain our temporal life.

How will Jesus be Bread for you today?

Rev. Dr. Carol Anne Janzen, CBAC Port Williams Baptist Church, NS

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DECEMBER 7 john 4:23-26 Being religious at Christmas feels so good.

It is so easy to feel smug about knowing all the words and the true meaning of those muzak carols at the mall. Some lifetime church attenders can take it even further by looking for opportunities to share their insider Bible knowledge about who was or wasn’t at the manger scene.

Religious views are sometimes used to cover up fears and personal failures.

Jesus met a woman who used such a religious protection. When Jesus had moved their conversation deeper by referring to her spiritual thirst, she “went religious” first by changing the subject by raising the Jewish – Samaritan historical worship controversy, then claimed that the Messiah would know all about these things when he came.

What a surprise for her when Jesus declared that he was the Messiah! There was no more reason for her to avoid obedience by hiding behind her “private religion”.

Everything changed for her. She had met Jesus!

As we prepare for the Christmas season it is important to work past our private misuse of religious knowledge and celebrate in SPIRIT and TRUTH because we have also met Jesus the Messiah.

Rev. Paul Stade, CBWC First Baptist Church, Brandon, MB

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DECEMBER 8 mark 14:61-62 What’s in it for me?

This question can creep in when I’m about to make a decision or commitment. How much does this assignment pay? What will I have to give up if I take on that responsibility at church? How will responding to that friend’s needs drain me? How diff icult will it be to make that change in my life?

These are normal questions and yet they work against the transformation God wants to bring about in my soul. He wants to make me more like him and that means replacing my selfishness and pride with the kind of love that does not wait for the other person to somehow earn it. One way to keep God’s commands is to choose to love at any cost, just as Jesus Christ did when He gave up the glory of heaven to walk on this earth and then gave up His life to give us eternal life.

A better question to ask is: Who am I in Christ?

If I am God’s child, made in His image and called to obey Him, then I must love those He brings into my life, whether or not there is ultimately any benefit to me. With Christ living in me, that burden becomes a privilege!

Ann-Margret Hovsepian, CBWOQ Temple Baptist Church, Montréal, QC

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DECEMBER 9 philippians 2:5-11 Philippians 2:5-11 is one of the most beautiful texts written about Jesus and the incarnation. One cannot read it without falling in love with Jesus all over again. It shows his ultimate sacrifice, his humility, his self-denial. He is the pre-existent God, with all his glory. Yet, out of his own free will, he gave up all that to take the form of a slave, even to the extent of death on a cross. All of this because he loves us so. How can you not fall in love with him?

However, one cannot read this text without putting it into its context.

Suddenly, the most beautiful text becomes the most difficult and challenging text. Paul presents the sacrifice of Jesus as a model for us to follow. We are to think like Jesus. Paul is using this Jesus paradigm to call us to a radical change of our mindset. This is difficult, is it not? We are called to deny ourselves while we are so used to working things to our own favour. We are called to love others and sacrifice for them while we are so used to working toward advancing our own agenda. Can you imagine the kind of Christian community we could have if we all had this kind of attitude?

It would be wonderful, this Advent season, if we can take some of the beauty that we find in Jesus, learn from it, and start to imitate it and live it among those around us.

Elie Haddad, CBM Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, Lebanon

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DECEMBER 10 matthew 18:1-5 Jesus is always full of surprises. Asked about greatness, he calls a child close.

When Jesus says "become like children," we remember that his life modelled even that for us. His humble coming was a surprise and shock to many— God, as a child, among us! Such is the Kingdom.

Thinking of greatness, we tend to like independent heroes: powerful and capable of doing whatever they will, with unlimited resources at their disposal. In Christ, we see the world differently. As a child, we recognize our dependence on our heavenly Father, humbly and joyfully relying on his work and provision alone. We, like Christ, are dearly loved sons and daughter who bring our Father joy.

There’s obedience too. As Jesus further adds, not only do we come to the Kingdom in this way, we also need to appreciate the childlike qualities of others and be ready to extend a welcome. Just as Jesus’ own appearing was overlooked by many, if we're not careful, we can miss the surprise of God's presence and activity in others.

Come vulnerable, come ready to learn, ready to grow. Come in simplicity, come in humility. Come dependant on our Father. Come ready to welcome.

Like Jesus, come as a child.

Rev. Gordon Dickerson, CBAC Cornerstone Baptist Church, Cornwall, PE

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DECEMBER 11 romans 5:1-5 Peace with God. It’s something that we take for granted, isn’t it? But think of the world into which those words were spoken. The Jews were under the law—a harsh system of rules to follow that regulated everything from small things, like clothes and food, to big things, like the exclusion of disabled people, foreigners and women, who were never allowed into the inner courts of the temple. Countless animals were sacrificed in the hopes of atoning for mistakes, but even so… there were no guarantees. There was no measuring up to perfection. Worse still, some pagan religions of the time drove their devotees to sacrifice their own children in the hopes of appeasing their angry gods. This was fear of God, but not the awe, respect and adoration we normally think of. This was terror.

And this is peace. We forget what it means, don’t we? Peace? It’s easy to lose sight of the sheer awesomeness of it. Our Creator is listening to us; his face is turned toward us; when we gather in his name, he is present. No blood. No fear. No death. No death at all, really, because all that was cast out by perfect love. And when we live in that love—when we absorb it into the marrow of our bones, we can face suffering. We can abide these “light and momentary troubles.” We have peace with God through Jesus. We have Jesus! We are imbued with the Holy Spirit. We will never be put to shame.

It is good to have friends in high places.

Jacqueline Solomon, CBOQ Spring Garden Church, Toronto, ON

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DECEMBER 12 matthew 25:31-40 Jesus was heralded as he came into the world as an infant. Is he now heralded in our hearts because he came into the world? What difference does he make in your life because you let him enter your heart? Our Christian lives will be judged—severely it seems—as we cannot have a change of heart without a change in our attitudes and actions.

Are we aware of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, the stranger in need, those imprisoned? Let us serve with the love Jesus called us to and demonstrated! Are we deaf to needs and not hearing Jesus call us to minister and serve? Let us open our ears! Who are we in Christ? Has not his blood cleansed us from the sin of negligence? Reflect upon what you will say to the Lord when you stand before him.

This has been a devastating year because of hurricanes, flooding, fires, destruction and wars; can we turn a blind eye and not see that these things are grieving the Lord as they should us? Let us respond in love.

Who are we in Christ? Let us reflect upon this during this advent season.

Vickie Coutlee, CBOQ Gilmour Memorial Baptist Church, Peterborough, ON

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DECEMBER 13 1 john 4:19-5:5 Matters have come to a crisis.

Dragged before the high priest, chief priests, elders and teachers who’ve gathered hurriedly, Jesus has yet to speak. He hasn’t had to up to this point.

The stories witnesses offer up are patently false–even to the Sanhedrin who want something, anything, to be able to put Jesus to death. Legally.

The high priest stands up and demands to know why Jesus says nothing.

No reply.

Again the high priest asks. But this time, he demands that Jesus, under oath, answer the question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And now, Jesus has no legal choice but to reply.

“I am,” he says.

Do you feel those seconds of charged stillness that grip those who hear Jesus’ “outing” of himself ?

It’s the stillness of hundreds of years of codified approaches to Yahweh, the great I AM. It’s the stillness of unbelief and of contempt for the man standing before them who’s foolishly just given them a license to kill.

Who is this man?

In his words, he’s the Son of God. He is God. He is the way, the truth, the resurrection and the life, the true vine, the good shepherd, the bread of life, the light of the world, the One who is to come, the Almighty.

Take a moment this Advent and hear Jesus’ answer once more. “I am.”

Then be still.

Renee James, CBWOQ Communications Director 14

DECEMBER 14 ephesians 4:32-5:2 Children often imitate their parents. I am sure you can think of a funny story from your own childhood of ways you imitated your parents. The hope is that a child will only imitate the good things. Unfortunately, they also imitate actions and words that a child shouldn’t be doing or saying. A parent will say to their child, “Do what I say, not what I do.” Often a saying like this comes with a child feeling confused and not sure how to please the parent.

When I think about imitating parents, I am thankful for a heavenly Father who does not bring confusion to his children. He is full of forgiveness, compassion, and love for us. That is something I don’t mind imitating. How wonderful to know that in Christ we are imitators of God who show his kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love to one another.

Take time to reflect on how you need to imitate your Heavenly Father in your own life. Maybe there is someone you need to forgive. Maybe you can show extra kindness to someone at work today. Wherever you are in your relationship with Jesus, remember that you are his example to the world.

Rev. Erin Jackman, CBAC Stevens Road Baptist Church, Dartmouth, NS

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DECEMBER 15 luke 6:32-38 Short, punchy statements are in right now–have you noticed? Inspirational quotes appear these days on pillows, wall art, even tea bags. It’s as if we are trying very hard to remember who we are and how we want to live in this fast-paced, information-inundated age.

Jesus’ words indeed are inspirational: “Love your enemies.” “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” “Give, and it will be given to you.” Jesus, however, was not coining pithy sayings to be printed on a mug, painted on a weathered board, tattooed on an arm, or posted on Pinterest. His teachings incarnated the way he lived. And the way he lived incarnated the heart of the One he served.

On the night that he was betrayed he broke bread and gave it to Judas, “This is my body, broken for you.” On the morning he was lead off to Golgotha and crucified, he looked down at his tormentors and said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” In a world addicted to vengeance, Jesus was the face of mercy. In a world riddled with violence, Jesus was the face of peace. In a world weighed down by sin, Jesus was the face of forgiveness.

Jesus, God incarnate, the face of grace.

Who are we, in Christ? We who bear Christ within us, proclaim Christ around us, worship Christ above us, stand on Christ beneath us - who are we, in Christ?

Who will we be this day? Fountains of lavish grace or peddlers of pithy sayings? Children of the Most High, or children of our age? In a world increasingly wracked by violence and destruction, it really is the question of the hour. What will we embody?

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Anne Smith, CBWC The Church at Southpoint, Surrey, BC

DECEMBER 16 2 peter 1:3-7 Our Christmas Eve service last year saw several children in costumes presenting, in a fresh way, the story of Jesus, born as a baby in Bethlehem.

At the end, when leaving the front, a number of those who were sheep were scrambling around the platform in all directions and the shepherds were rounding them up.

Each year during Advent, we can recognize again the significance of what God accomplished by sending Jesus Christ into our world. As II Peter 1:3 maintains, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”

All of us, like the scattered sheep, have a tendency to run around in all directions. It is only as we receive the divine power of God that, “in Christ,” we are rounded up and find our purpose, our calling. We are given “everything we need” to access and to live the surrendered lives God promises and intends for us.

Prayer: Thank you grace-f illed God that you have arranged for us to be rounded up by our loving Shepherd, your son Jesus Christ

Rev. Lola Mather-Dyer, CBOQ Springford Baptist Church, ON

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DECEMBER 17 matthew 13:31-33 What is the Kingdom of God? When I studied the gospels at Acadia, under Dr. Allison Trites, we learned that

the kingdom of God was found in places where God’s rule was recognized through worship and obedient service. The kingdom was both a present reality and a future hope in the sayings of Jesus.

Dr. Bruce Chilton’s work on the Isaiah Targum (an Aramaic translation of the

Hebrew Bible) enabled us to overhear “the kingdom of God” in the language spoken in the synagogues of first century Galilee. The kingdom of God was used to convey the hope of God coming in power to save and restore his broken and wounded people. David Hill built on Chilton’s work. He defined it as God revealing his

presence in majesty and mercy, conveying the greatness of God and his compassion.

The healing narratives show the combination of majesty and mercy as God’s sovereign power is revealed through Jesus.

Other New Testament scholars contributed helpful dimensions to understanding the

kingdom. Clarence Jordan’s translation of the gospels used the term “the movement.”

He understood that the rule of God was participatory in the sense that people made

commitments of faith and loyalty. Their participation would transform their lives and the world around them. John Dominic Crossan referred to the kingdom as “God’s great clean-up operation.” Crossan’s point is that God is dealing with something terrible in the world–the problem of evil manifest through issues like violence,

disparity, hunger, and injustice. Through Jesus, God was transforming individual lives and their communities.

The kingdom is present today where God is acting to reclaim his sovereignty, forgive

sins, heal wounds, and call people to humble service. The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast encourage us to look for God’s presence in the world and to offer our small gifts to his transforming rule.

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Rev. Dr. Gordon King, CBM Resources Specialist

DECEMBER 18 psalm 45:6-7 Advent is the season of the year when “the church prepares to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas) and engages in self-examination in expectation of his second coming” (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology).

He came. He will come again. He comes now to make engaged followers, constructing his church with the power of the Anointed One, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 45, a wedding song, foresees the church joyfully preparing to meet her husband, Jesus Christ (Rev. 19). The Psalmist begins with, “My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness. I pour it out in a poem to the King, shaping the river into words” (Ps. 45:1, MSG). Followers of Jesus Christ, with all the Church collectively, need this Joy of the Messiah.

Has the critical, judgmental, negative spirit that has captivated our society crept into the church? Only the Spirit of our Joyful Jesus can break this (Luke 10:21). Psalm 45:6-7 explains that our Eternal, Almighty God has all the power of the Kingdom and he loves justice, while hating evil. The Anointed One came with “Good News of Great Joy.” Like our Messiah, we have an anointing from the Holy One (I John 2:20).

In our Advent preparations, should we confess and ask the elders of the church to anoint us with the Oil of Joy for our spiritual healing ( James 5:14)?

Prayer: “Jesus, my Messiah, Anointed One, I confess my need for your Oil of Joy to live in the Spirit of Joy, committed to stand up against injustice, inequality and negativity.”

Rev. Dr. Roger Graham, CBAC Forest Hills Baptist Church, Saint John, NB 19

DECEMBER 19 matthew 5:3-10 Jesus is speaking of the kingdom. He is speaking of this long-dreamedof and long-hoped-for kingdom. He is speaking of God’s rule breaking in, interrupting our world, overturning it by overturning our hearts as he declares them, “Mine.” And in speaking of the kingdom, he describes those who are entering into it. He describes those who are his–those he calls “blessed,” that is, the ones on whom God’s favour rest and those to whom this kingdom is not just coming, but even now in some remarkable and mysterious way has come.

And who are these people? Are they the usual suspects–the ones sitting at the head table or standing at the head of the class? Are they the ones who seem quickest to use the word “blessed” while we in the audience nod our heads in agreement?”

Incredibly Jesus tells us, “no.” He tells us that God’s kingdom is more like looking through a mirror than a window. It isn’t the usual suspects who are winning or claiming their claim to his kingdom, but a very unusual group indeed. It is the poor in spirit, the spiritually bankrupt and bust who find no other hope in this world or claim to this kingdom than him. And it is those whose spiritual poverty leads them not only to mourn the brokenness of their own hearts, but of the world’s. And it is those whose desire for righteousness doesn’t lead to self-righteousness before others but to seeking mercy for others. It is to these, Jesus promises, not just that the kingdom will come or that they might be counted. But incredibly, that his kingdom has come and is, even now, theirs. The kingdom has a way of showing up in places like a manger in an unremarkable town, or a muddy stream in a barren wilderness, or in the hearts of people whose spiritual poverty brings them to the one who blesses them and welcomes them into his kingdom.

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Joe Welty, CBWC Broadway-First Baptist Church, Winnipeg, MB

DECEMBER 20 1 chronicles 29:10-11 the temple is not for man but for the LORD GOD and it will be great!

our wealth, honour, strength, power come from You we praise Your glorious Name

to build the temple, as king I give our nation’s treasures gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, marble, fine and precious stones— with whole heart and joy

Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom: time, greatness, power, glory victory and majesty in heaven, on earth— You are all in all

over and above I give personal wealth fine gold and silver in hundreds of tons with whole heart and joy— who will match these gifts?

You test our hearts claim them for Your throne keep us faithful-we thank You, LORD

chiefs, princes, captains, rulers give gold, silver, bronze, iron with whole hearts and joy the people give precious stones with whole hearts and joy O LORD, who am I? who are my people? we give what comes from Your hand we are strangers and trekkers our days are shadows You own all, rule all

J. E. Buttery, CBOQ Green Ridge Baptist Church, Lennoxville, QC 21

DECEMBER 21 luke 22:25-30 Is there a fate worse than the humiliation of being consigned to the ‘kids’ table’ for Christmas dinner? (Perhaps, having no dinner at all). For our fragile and hungry ego, such demotion is a terrible cross to bear.

But such is the kingdom of God. Jesus announces a kingdom where the table is not for the stuffy but the servant. Those seated there have served and suffered with Christ. They seek the good of others, renouncing recompense and recognition. This ill-fits our current kingdoms, where the powerful strut and rule and the weak seek redress or revenge; each, in his own way, seeking self-affirmation apart from the other; both, in their own way, caught up in the same game. Oppressor and oppressed, ruler and wretched, we are all of the same coin, even if one face is up toward the sun and the other is ground into the dirt.

In the coming kingdom, it is not so. Jesus comes amongst us as the ruler who lays aside his regalia. He takes the garb of the wretched on himself, not in a sentiment of sympathy but in the act of condemnation of our self-arrogated powers and self-justification, thus saving us. Jesus neither justifies the rich or powerful nor elevates the poor by force–he clothes sinners and seats them at his table, while bidding them serve others. His reign does not usurp but undermines the kingdoms of this age, showing them poor and pathetic, and calling all to another table to eat, to drink, to live. Let us take a seat!

Rev. Gordon L Belyea, UÉBFC Église Évangélique Baptiste d’Ottawa, ON

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DECEMBER 22 isaiah 9:6-7 Prince of Peace, reigning on David’s throne, ruler of his kingdom…

This is the picture of our Jesus. Christ–who was sent to us as a baby in a lowly manger, a man who spoke against the religious leaders, who then died on a cross and rose three days late–as the leader of the greatest kingdom to ever be.

The Kingdom of God is here. It was brought to us through Christ’s death and resurrection. I know, it is Christmas not Easter, but hear me out.

Brothers and sisters, we celebrate Christmas because it was the first step in our salvation story. This baby that God gave the world became the beginning of the greatest kingdom ever known. And because of our Prince of Peace, we may be a part of this kingdom that has come.

So today, I encourage you to be kingdom builders. Seek after Jesus, his word, his leadership, and his future. Use the gifts and talents he has given you and be a part in the mighty Kingdom that was brought by the child that was born over 2000 years ago.

Taylor Craig, CBAC St. George Baptist Church, BC

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DECEMBER 23 revelation 22:12-14 Her cancer has returned. This is the news I received recently of my friend’s wife, a mother and soon-to-be grandmother. My heart sank even further as I heard the world news report of yet another shooting. When will all this violence stop? When will someone cure cancer? The emotions behind my questions are not unlike the desperation that many people in John’s world must have felt at the time he recorded the Revelation of Jesus. This desperation led them as it leads us to look for hope.

“Look, I am coming soon…” This hope of Jesus’ coming echoes Israel’s hope of God’s return, years before John penned these words. It is the hope of our world being made right; when everything and everybody will be subject to God’s rule: his Kingdom. It is the hope which is centred on Jesus and which motivates us to be involved in his mission.

In just a few days, we celebrate Jesus’ birth. His birth reminds us of this hope.

It reminds us, as John does, that even in the midst of our chaotic and violent world, God is still in control. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. It reminds us that Jesus is still coming to fix our broken world and that you and I can be a part of that mission and among those who eat the fruit from the tree of life.

What is God’s Kingdom here and now? It is this hope that we live into. It is the hope that we keep alive. It is the hope that Jesus has come, is come, and will come again.

Wayne Morgan, CBWC Prince George First Baptist Church, BC

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DECEMBER 24 luke 2:28-38 This story of Jesus Christ, our Saviour in the Temple, is like a summary of a story you are about to enjoy. It reminds me of precious moments captured forever in a child’s precious Baby Book.

This infant inspires Simeon, who understands that the baby held in his arms will reveal the innermost motives. What an accurate prediction!

People conceal thoughts and emotions. Simeon foresees the day when “all nations” will be blessed with peace because of God’s “salvation.” Jerusalem, downtrodden by Roman soldiers and governed by cranky, selfish kings and governors, could not be imagined as a source of salvation … to anyone! His words, “a light for the revelation to the Gentiles,” speak of God’s world-wide Kingdom, about to be revealed. What great expectations!

Anna, daughter of Penuel, rejoiced in “the redemption of Jerusalem” – God’s plan is to bring back his city’s people to Himself.

All around Simeon and Anna is the hustle and bustle of people entering and leaving the Temple, perhaps like Christmas shoppers rushing about today.

Yet, in the presence of this Divine Child, they have peace and tranquility, freedom, peace and hope. The earliest glimpse we have of our Saviour shows him about to bring in the Kingdom of Heaven.v

Rev. David and Cathie Phillips, CBOQ Heron Park Baptist Church, Scarborough, ON

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