Home for the Holidays - Part 18

The First Christmas Tree

Finding the perfect Christmas tree - we consider the size, notably the height, volume of branches, spacing of branches to ensure there are no gaps between the branches, the hue of green, the touch of the pine, whether we want real or artificial, and if artificial then pre-lit or not, as well as assembly and disassembly. What none of us imagine, what none of us have in mind is a stump.

But, this is precisely what the first Christmas tree was.

An old root.

A stump.

Seemingly forgotten and useless until the promised new life shoots forth. The prophet Isaiah painted the image for us:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;     from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,     the Spirit of counsel and of might,     the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner of salvation to all the world; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:1-2,10)

While we're in the Old Testament, let's linger here awhile. Remember Jesse, the one to whom Samuel approached to appoint one of his sons to be the king to replace Saul? Jesse quickly and understandably offered his three oldest sons - mighty, valiant, attractive, fit the mold for the regal and royal role. But, Samuel says no. Hesitantly, Jesse fetches David - ruddy appearance, the one who plays the harp and writes poetry and spends his day with sheep rather than in fierce military battle and conquest. God says, "I choose him."

And it's from this stump God promises a shoot of promise will grow - the promise made after the Fall in Genesis 3 - "the heir to David's throne [to] be a banner of salvation to all the world." (Isaiah 11:10)

And the question God used to respond to mankind's fall - remember? Three words, concise but direct: Where are you?

While Adam and Eve hid from God, God wasn't asking about their physical location for He is all-knowing and knew this; He was asking for them to consider their hearts. Where are you? Where is your heart in relation to Me? Where am I is the question we all must answer.

And then, almost as if on purpose... I kid. With intention and clarity of purpose, we see this same question resurface in the New Testament. It wasn't God seeking. Instead, it came as men were seeking Him.

The wise men enter the scene asking, "Where is he?" (Matthew 2:2) But, I believe what they were really asking and the question we all must answer is: Where am I in relation to Him, to the promised Savior of the world?

For we will only come to understand where we are and who we are when we recognize where He is and who He is.

How striking, how gripping, how beautifully poetic and heart-rendering: what was lost at a tree is now found at a tree - from a stump a shoot comes forth.

It's as if God knew His plan for redemption and reconciliation all along. I kid again. God knew. Jesus was always God's plan A.

It's hard to imagine the brutality and mockery and murder were part of this redemption. While we must remember only good things come from God and the pain inflicted on Christ was not from God but God allowed it. God allowed the death of His Son, because God knew it was the only way. The cost of my sin is death. The cost of your sin is death. I've come to understand this is why all sin is equal in God's eye - a lie, a slander, an affair, a murder. All lead to death - death of a friendship, death of another's reputation, death of trust, death of another.

And why Christmas is unfathomably remarkable, a miracle I just can't get over and never will is God loved us while we were still sinners and came not to condemn us in our failure but to set us free.

The Fall of mankind - the many falls of my life and those of yours - because of the gift of Christ becomes a greater fall - a redemptive fall into amazing grace - arms spread wide on a cross, welcoming us home.

And as we were saying last week, this is bigger than you and I. This grace is a gift. Freely given to us so we can freely give it to others - those seemingly gourded relatives and neighbors, friends and colleagues.

This is how others know we are in God's family, a family of love, a family of undeserved grace.

Looking in the mirror, I am reminded God has remade me from the gourd I, too, used to be. May my patience for others shoot forth from this place of humility and self-awareness and may God restore what has been lost in our families and our relationships with others.

Praise God. Amen.

May we find strength to come to Christ as we are - our tangled, fearful, hurt, broken, failed parts of us - knowing He loves us still. May our joy for Christmas be genuine this year - not merely routine or placed on secular traditions but on the unfathomably remarkable gift of grace we've been given but never deserved. May peace with the Father lead us to extend grace to others and experience peace in our relationships and in our families, and may we rest knowing God's plan has been certain from the beginning of time and He will be faithful to do what He has promised. Christmas is the celebration of a promise fulfilled, may we rejoice in this with gladness and with thanksgiving!

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.

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