…When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. 33 He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” Luke 1:28-33
There is this great scene in Elf where Will Ferrell’s character Buddy hears some exciting news. The store manager flatly states to customers leaving for the day that Santa will be there tomorrow. “SANTA!” Buddy screams, far too loudly for an adult department store elf. “SANTA! I know him.” It’s true: in the film, Buddy does know Santa. Yet he remains giddy at the chance to meet him again.
Advent is our annual season of preparation for something that has both already happened and is yet to come. Jesus came down at Christmas… the Word became flesh, and nothing has ever been the same. Yet we celebrate that moment from the past in anticipation for another moment yet to come.
My prayer is that we get as excited as Buddy the Elf to welcome this Jesus whom we always hope to know more. If you are curious and would like to go deeper in this Advent story please join one of our small group Advent studies at either 9:00am Sundays or 1:00pm Tuesdays. It’s not too late to start an evening group, either. It’s a great story with the power to transform your faith and life, too.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Ben
Celebrating the Reign of Christ