Love Came Down

December 15, 2022
Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Matthew 1:20-21, 1 John 4:7-11

I just love driving through our small community and seeing all the beautiful lights and Christmas light displays. This time of year, it gets very dark, very early and even though there is still much work to be done after the sun sets, I find it a peaceful and centering experience to see all the bright snowflake patterns shining brightly all up and down our main street. Jesus is the light of the world. When he shines in your life through your loving, sharing, comforting, and patient listening, the world gets changed, even if just a little bit and for just a little while.

It was just such a moment when the angel appeared to Joseph and told him “Don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins”. What a moment that must have been, and what a challenge faced Joseph and his beloved, yet, what an amazing gift was being given.

This week in my congregations, we will light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath, and for us it will be the candle of Love. I will read from the scriptures how “This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”.

We will remember how the prophet Isaiah foretold; “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel [which means, God with us]”.

The next time you are out and about, or even just roaming the halls in which you dwell, stop and look at some Christmas lights and decorations and say to yourself, or even out loud; “Love came down at Christmas”.