Dear Cornerstone family,
At our particular juncture in history, preparing for Christmas often has little to do with preparing for Christ’s coming. For the vast majority, the holiday season is marked by a flurry of parties and shopping sprees with little time for quiet reflection and heart preparation around the mystery of Christ’s incarnation.
Consequently, we enter this season with great anticipation and a fair amount of dread. We are glutted with social contact and yet feel alone. We are frazzled, harried, and stressed in the midst of what is supposed to be a time full of cheer. Even when the flashes of joy do come, and they usually do, those flashes often lack relation to the story of the baby boy born of a peasant girl in a stable in Bethlehem—the one Scripture calls, “the good news of great joy for all people” and “the hope of all the nations” (Luke 2:10; Matthew 12:21).
J.B. Phillips once wrote, “The towering miracle of God’s visit to this planet on which we live will be glossed over, brushed aside or rendered impotent by over-familiarity for many this Christmas. Even by the believer the full weight of the event is not always appreciated. His faith is in Jesus Christ—he believes with all his heart that this man, who lived and died and rose again in Palestine, was truly the Son of God. He may have, in addition, some working experience that the man Jesus is still alive, and yet be largely unaware of the intense meaning of what he believes.”
Could this be true of you? Has the wonder of Christ’s advent faded for you? Has the glory of the incarnation ceased to amaze? Is your hopeful expectation of Christ’s return being elbowed out by all the holiday fanfare?
To draw us into the mystery of Christ’s first advent and to prepare us for his return, we are turning our attention to the poets and songwriters of the Old Testament reflecting on five key Messianic Psalms.
Waiting for Messiah: The Psalms of Advent
December 1 — Psalm 2:1-12
December 8 — Psalm 8:1-9
December 15 — Psalm 40:1-17
December 22 — Psalm 98:1-9
December 29 — Psalm 146:1-10
On this first day of Advent, let’s boldly declare that evil and death and pain and loss won’t last. For Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, will have the final word. Therefore, let faith, hope, and love rise again within you, and let’s watch together with eager expectation for the return Christ. For the saying is true and worthy of acceptance, “Blessed are those servants whom the Master finds awake when He comes” (Luke 12:37).
Your servant,
