04 Dec Package Delivery
As a Father, one of my joys, as is the joy of all Fathers, is to wax nostalgic about the differences between life as it is now, and life as it was when I was my children’s age. In other words, I get to give them the “back in the day” speech.
Trust me, kids always love this.
Anyway…there are several notable, and even marked differences between today, and “days of yore”, as they say:
- Smartphones, for sure (expensive, but kinda worth it)
- The average size, and relatively low cost, of a television (seriously, 75 inches for $500?)
- Food options are way better (where were all these taco options around Y2K?)
- On-Demand, Streaming Entertainment (paging Blockbuster…)
But one of the most remarkable differences between today and even 10 years ago– and in some ways, the main way the world has changed over the past year alone– is the sheer omnipresence and ubiquity of package delivery.
YOU CAN GET ANYTHING DELIVERED! And, in many cases, in 24 hours or less. This, we should acknowledge, is remarkable.
And once your order is placed, especially for that thing you want or really need, there’s a feeling of anticipation, of longing, and if you’re a child expecting that thing, there’s a checking of the mailbox or front porch every 30 minutes or so.
Now imagine there is something that has been promised to be delivered to you or your family over, not just hours, days, weeks or even months, but over hundreds of years.
Wouldn’t that build some kind of longing, of expectation? Wouldn’t you long for the arrival of, the coming of, the advent of that promise?
You would. And God’s people, for many centuries, did. They longed for the appearance, for the arrival of the Messiah, the promised deliverer and rescuer.
And then, one night in a tiny town in Israel called Bethlehem, it happened. Jesus, the Christ, arrived. God delivered Himself, through His Son, onto the doorstep of humanity.
There wasn’t a bell to be rung to “let ‘em know”, but there was an angelic choir there to perform a similar task, to announce that the first Advent of Jesus had happened.
And so, in the year called 2020, in a year full of difficulty, distance and even death, we have the blessed opportunity, through the practice of the Christian season called Advent, to both remember the first arrival of the promised Messiah, and to rehearse the second arrival, which Jesus of Nazareth promised, based on the fact of his literal, physical bodily resurrection from the dead, the fact on which all our Christian hope hangs.
Through Christmas, and the Advent season, we are able to rejoice in the “delivery on the doorstep” of the Christ child, and we are able to, with even more confidence, put hope in that next arrival of our heart’s longing.
More than ever, I’m looking forward to singing, preaching, and practicing what it means to be a people of Advent: through our generosity, through Christian witness to our neighbor, and through celebrating what “God With Us” looks like (we’ll start looking at that this Sunday).
In light of all this, would you consider doing one thing for me/Mosaic Church/your people?
Would you consider sending in a short, “Merry Christmas” video to be shown on Christmas Eve? I would love to be able to see you, your family, your children, and so would a whole lot of other people. I think seeing you would help us all celebrate just a little bit better. It doesn’t matter how long or how short you’ve been at Mosaic, we would just love to see you!
With love, and anticipation,
Morgan
PS: Click below for details on how to film and upload your “Merry Christmas” greeting video. **The deadline is next Friday, December 11.**
