I'm sitting in the dark. In the pitch dark. I'm in a house that went to bed early this evening, typing away and a light kicked on right as I started blogging. The light is actually coming from our front porch, tucked away on the inside of an evergreen arrangement in a sleigh my dad had as a kid. They cast a beautiful glow right behind a wreath on our front door. I wish I could show you a picture. It's in the simplicity of the decor that I find great beauty.
Not only do I see light this evening, but I feel light. It's the air & the music. Clair De Lune. Debussy's overplayed, yet underappreciated masterpiece. I will forever be indebted to him for the joy that he has brought my soul and my ears. If I could have been the musician at Jesus' birth, I would have played Clair De Lune. Obviously with my traveling piano, and trembling hands.
Part of me wonders what Jesus' manger looked like, and what the star above his manger looked like. He was the Messiah, "the Word made flesh", and I can't help but wonder about his star. It's what brought the wise men to him two years after he was born. So, being a credible researcher, I Googled it. Wikipedia.com (one of the most reliable resources on the internet to date, ahem) has this linked to their site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sky_Jerusalem_South-7BC-11-12.gif - apparently, we can see what the sky may have looked like! Except I'm a little confused because 7BC would mean Jesus was -7. Reliable, I tell you. Reliable.
You see, I don't envision the star as something that an untrained eye would have noticed. You may disagree with me, (and I wish more people would - if I ever get too big for my britches, it's your job let me know), but I think his star was ordinary. The wise men found Jesus because 1) God was leading them, and 2) They were astronomers. Jesus was humble and plain, even though there was nothing plain about him. The light was in his eyes, and in his heart; a flaming, roaring fire. It never went out. The light is slowly coming back into my bones and shining brighter in my eyes after a long, hard year, but the light was ever-shining, never-waning in Jesus. But I'm left wondering about the light in the sky. If Jesus was born fully God and fully man, what did his star look like? I'll find out on one of the many picture frames on the wall of heaven, but it sure it hard to wait until then.
I attended church this evening with my parents (after getting into the car by myself!) It was a freezing cold night, and I was thankful to be inside of a building. Having to hide underground to go to church would not be fun in Illinois. Or anywhere in the midwest to be quite honest. The sermon tonight was based around light, which helped me to warm up when the wind picked up speed this evening. Our church kicked off a sermon series about how the events surrounding Jesus' birth were prophesied in the Old Testament. I'm looking forward to learning more about it because I think that there is so much assurance to be found in in the ancient writings.
I've always loved old things, and my sisters do too. I can walk into an antique store, and always find something. It fascinates me when I'm holding something old - I can't help but think about the hands that have touched things before me. The thing about the Old Testament is that even though it is thousands and thousands of years old, it's still alive. It's not an antique. The words were birthed by the breath of God. And, every single one of the prophesies about the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. It's such an exciting thing! Indescribable actually.
The Old Testament is the first chunk of the Bible, everything up until Jesus was born. From Genesis to Exodus there are 39 different books, the Jewish Torah is the first five. This idea of light is woven in from the very very beginning: Genesis 1:3&4, "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness."
There is light in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, (I'd never heard this one before: “But now, for a brief moment, the LORD our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage." Ezra 9:8), Nehemiah, Job (there is a lot of light in Job...a lot of lack light in Job...and then some light again), Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Amos, Micah, Zechariah, aaaaaaaaaaaaand Malachi! Phew! And! There's lightning in several others. I BibleGatewayed it. Love that website.
God is a God of light. He loves light, I think. He is light. A bajillion, quadrillion, mahmillion times brighter than the sun. One of my favorite lines comes from the song Indescrible: "Who imagined the sun, and gives source to its light?" Jesus reflected his Father's light. He brought that light into a world that desperately needed it., and still does He brought it into a life that desperately needed it. Mine. A Gentile. A sinner. I am on an unfamiliar path right now, not just because my legs are broken; I have felt this way for quite some time. I live in the world.
Prophecy:
Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
But I am so thankful for this Jesus. Even along an unfamiliar path, I find my darkness being turn to light, and the rough places being made smooth. I'm thankful for the fierce light that Jesus faithfully carried, unselfishly laying his own life down for mine. Even though I have never seen him, I have seen and felt the light that he carried. Simeon says it well in Luke 2:29-32 (And so you know who Simeon is...he was an elderly Jewish man who not only upheld the Jewish traditions, he also loved God with all that he had - this was why the Holy Spirit was on him. As we discussed in church tonight, the Holy Spirit was alive and at work even before Jesus sent it to dwell in his followers...it was upon Simeon because of love.)
Fulfillment:
(Luke 2: 25-28) Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
Thank you, Father for your light, and thank you for revealing it to us, Jews and Gentiles alike. You are a God who fulfills his promises. You are indescribable.
