This morning in worship, pastor Joe had a friend share his story. It was a powerful moment. A pastor of a growing church, in the past year he lost in quick succession, a best friend killed in a motorcycle accident, his mother, a brother in law, his brother, and one or two other close relatives. Then his marriage disintegrated. His ecclesiastical superiors wanted him to keep preaching, but he said he had nothing left to give. So he resigned his pastorate. He spoke of God walking with him through these dark days of his life, how he held on to the promises of God in the Scriptures when everything around him looked nothing like those promises, and how God held on to him. He is still in the middle of the storm, and though his life doesn't look like the life he imagined he would have, he thanks God for the old friends who have stood by him, the new friends he has made, and for the grace and support he has experienced from God's people. It was the most powerful testimony I've ever heard.
We are in the midst of Advent; Christmas is just around the corner, but for many people it isn't measuring up to the hype. The season of peace and joy is for many as cold and dark as a winter night. And yet it was in the middle of the night that the star shone and the angels sang. And when the morning dawned, nothing had really changed, but everything had changed. Herod was still on the throne, Mary and Joseph were still poor, with a price on their heads. But the Savior had been born. It would be another 30 or so years before he embarked on his ministry, at the end of which he was left hanging on a cross to die. It took another 300 years before the faith of which he is the object conquered Rome, and in the 2,000 years since, hatred, war, and evil have continued to imprison people in its web of sin and despair. And yet.
In the deepest and darkest moments of life, the Good News that was proclaimed so long ago continues to give men and women hope and strength to pick themselves up from the wreckage of the life they had planned and take the next step into the life God planned. In the words of Mary when the angel told her she would bear the Savior of the world,
"The Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty."
It's in the depths that we cry out, seeking God from souls starving for life. And it's there in the darkness that we are filled with good things, giving thanks and praising him in faith for what we cannot yet see, waiting for that hour when the sun finally breaks over the horizon and the Deliverer comes.
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