Happy Christmas!!

Greetings friends and a merry Christmas to all. I was lying in bed last night thinking about why I enjoy this season. Reflecting on my childhood, I recall the excitement of anticipation. Waking at 6 AM was not unheard of (much to my parents' chagrin). The anticipation of getting that special toy was too much to contain. But, as with all childhood requests, some were way over the top for Santa to fulfill (here I am thinking of the authentic fighter jet).

I think this anticipation has a deeper meaning and providentially so. As with Israel in bondage and exile, they yearned for deliverance and Messiah. And so now with the Church, we desire the Bridegroom. Christmas is not for toys and large meals with friends and family, although these are great symbols of the ultimate reality of the new heaven and earth and the great wedding banquet. The Church season of Advent focuses our eyes on Christ's first coming and hopefully turns our hearts towards his return. This is why I love this time of year. The excitement of anticipation does not abate as the years go by.

Everyday, there is that hope of seeing the sky roll back or a strange looking cloud carrying a Man. The anticipation of the fully remade Creation existing with Heaven is the reason that Christmas does not lose its profoundly good flavour. The ability to explore the created order for the rest of eternity, walking along side lions without fear of being lunch, not worrying about my gimpy hip-flexor muscles as I run; these are all things I anticipate and wonder over each Christmas (and each day for that matter).

Whether you are young or old, the excitement of anticipation can be realized because as the old hymn says, "For He came near and the soul felt its worth." We all desire to know that feeling. As young kids, it is manifest in that caring gift. As teenagers...well I can only guess, maybe it is that unconditional acceptance in this awkward time of life. As a younger adult, it is that desire to see Christ coming on the clouds in those days. As an older adult, it is knowing that one day soon they will see Him as He is. We will always yearn for Christ until he returns because the curse will not be fully undone until the parousia (triumphant return of the King after defeating all enemies). Just as with Christmas in our youth, we don't always get what we ask for, so it is with Christ's return. But, there is always next year...

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.