Joy To The World
Talking with folks at the Habitat Restore, where I hang out a couple of times each week, a consistent theme of weariness keeps popping up. Staff, doing good work helping people earn their first house, work at the ragged edge. Shoppers looking for bargains to stretch budgets seem exhausted by inflation. One guy, from the Burns area, sagged into a recliner and said he was dreading the drive home, "I'm out of gas and almost out of gas."
So, all the genuine and manufactured Christmas merriment surrounding us can seem a mockery in the face of conspiring circumstances of downward trends. But the truth of the Advent season lies in God's redemptive work that will not quit until every aspect of his creation is remade, rekindled, rebirthed. God becoming a baby was just the next step in an unfolding drama of redemption. He is the redeemer throughout the story and will do his work long after we exit the stage.
Think of one of the most common carols sung this time of year, "Joy to the World", and its message. We run right by the hammer of truth buried in this early 1700s song. Read, slowly, again, the verse that says,
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found
Isaac Watts sums it all up with this statement and repetitive extension. Jesus came to stop the damage and death, the curse and the cause of all that people endure. The whole point of the cross and the empty tomb is God's grand proclamation that his blessings will flow into every corner and crack where the curse is found and done its harm, and newness will come.
True truth is that we are to be grateful for being redeemed of our sins and freed to live forever with him, but the story does not end there. God's redemptive work is not just in the individual for the eternal, but as "far as the curse is found." Jesus really did come to "make his blessings flow" and continues to be at work every day in every corner of creation, and will not stop until it is all restored. And he invites us to get in on the action!
Sure, we are secure in our eternal destination, to be forever with him, but he also came to restore all that is broken, all that has been cursed. He came to refresh the weary, to encourage the downtrodden, to free the captive, welcome the stranger, to heal the wounded, to renew the ones who have given up. The creation itself will be redeemed and made new. That stands as Jesus' grand game plan, and he is the master of the long game. And part of our calling is to join in to bring these same blessings "far as the curse is found."
The book of Revelation continues to be a mystery to me with all of its imagery and symbolism, but I get the theme loud and clear: God wins. I tip my hat to those who have tried valiantly to decipher the whos and whats and whens of the book (spoiler: over the millennia there are many, many confident interpretations!), but there can be no doubt who forms and finishes the story. It is the Father, Son, and Spirit.
In the final scenes of Revelation a grand statement is made that reveals the work for all the ages, completed.
He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall be no longer any death, there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."
Now, that's good news. Your redeemer lives. Your redeemer knows your weariness and pain. Your redeemer will never stop working his plan of making his blessings flow as far as the curse is found. Be encouraged. Even when we see no end to suffering, we have a savior who has suffered and now stands with us, and will not stop until the curse is crushed.
In the meantime, that remains our mission, as well. If this is God's great end goal, how could ours be any different? You and I can take our redeemed (and still plenty flawed) selves to our world and let his blessings flow, wherever the curse is found. That sounds like a life worth living.
This Advent, read the words of the carols we sing and let them teach anew what God has in store for us all.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room
and heaven and nature sing!
Now, music!
...and a couple of groaners
A science teacher decided to conduct an experiment to show his students the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
He took four jam jars.
In jar one he put cigarette smoke.
In jar two, alcohol.
In jar three junk food,
and in jar four good clean dirt.
He then put an earthworm into each jar, sealed them and put them in a cupboard.
At the end of a week he took the jars out and showed them to the students, saying. "Look, the worm in the cigarette smoke is dead, the worm in the alcohol is dead, and the worm in the junk food is dead. However, the worm in the dirt is alive and well.
What do we learn from this?"
One young student put up his hand and said, "If we smoke, drink alcohol, and eat junk food, we won't get worms."
__________
The cowpoke at the dude ranch was getting the crowd to pick the type horse they wanted.
"For those seasoned riders, we have fast horses. For you novice riders, we have slow horses."
A city slicker spoke out, "What if you've never ridden a horse?"
The cowpoke said, "Great. For you who have never ridden, we have horses that have never been ridden, as well."