CHICAGO, IL (December 15, 2003) – Covenant Communications has been posting Advent devotionals from more than 250 church newsletters. This one is written by Timothy Johnson, pastor at Church of the Redeemer in Bowie, Maryland.
The church sign of one of our neighboring churches caught my attention the other evening. It read: “Greatly Anticipating the Return of the King.” During any previous years of Advent this would simply have read as a statement of faith for Christians – that we ARE in fact eagerly anticipating Jesus’ return.
This December, however, there is a clear double meaning to the sign. The third part of the very popular movie version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Return of the King) is hitting the theaters this month. The sign and the double meaning behind it have gotten me thinking about how much we like things packaged and contained, as in the span of a two-to-three-hour movie. Even when movies are trilogies and the story line extends forward and back beyond the length of the movie we watch, there is a certain appeal to established beginnings and endings. It’s helpful to know where this part of the story we’re seeing fits into the broader picture. Therefore, there is a huge difference in grasping what is going on in a movie like The Return of the King if one has seen the two movies leading up to it, compared to just seeing part three all by itself.
However, “The Return of the King” referenced on the church’s sign is not about a movie. It’s about a reality. It’s about a promise: our king WILL come, someday, one day, perhaps today. And neither His story nor His presence can be contained in a neat and “graspable” package, even if it is a highly symbolic movie based on a profound trilogy. Our king spills out beyond the packaging into which we try to contain Him. He breaks through barriers, He removes dividing walls, He cuts through joints and marrow and moves into the depths of people’s hearts. He recreates old life into new life and rewrites the script we had settled for. He spills out across the breadth of life in ways that are unpredictable and full of raw beauty.
Sweetly styled images of a chubby baby Jesus – come to bring peace and happiness to humankind – are inadequate. The salvation that He brings is not a nice add-on that will smooth out one’s life – it is revolutionizing. It is a top-to-bottom stripping away of the old and an infusing of the new. It is our king who brings death to our old selves and gives birth to our new selves. Not something that can be contained. Not neatly packaged. And not to be taken lightly.
One of my favorite Christmas hymns is Christina Rosetti’s “In the Bleak Midwinter.” For years I have loved the haunting melody of this hymn and its driving force: giving all of what one has to Jesus Christ. However, I have lately become captivated by the first phrase of the second stanza: “Our God, heav’n cannot hold him, nor earth sustain; heav’n and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.” The biblical reference behind this is from King Solomon’s prayer of dedication upon completing the temple in Jerusalem. He asked God in prayer (2 Chronicles 6:18): “But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
As you proceed through Advent, ask God to push through whatever containers or packaging that you have tried to place upon Him. Invite Him to expand, excite and infuse your awareness of what it is to live in the daily presence of the real king “who was and is and who is to come.
To read devotionals posted earlier, visit the following:
- He Will Stand By You
- Candles Remind Us of Christ’s Light
- Keeping Our Hearts Focused on God
- The Pre-Christmas Present
- Waiting God’s Way
- Prepare to Meet Your God
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