Meditations on the Birth of Christ

Reflections for Advent in the Context of Chinese Culture

You Bin, Johan Ferreira

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781725298552, 9781725298569
• eBook ISBN: 9781725298576
• Topic: Theology & Religion

This series of meditations on the birth of Christ encourages the reader to relive the miracle of Christmas. Through reflecting on Scripture, Church tradition, and Chinese culture the reader may experience afresh the Word becoming flesh. The reader travels to ancient Bethlehem in a spiritual sense to contemplate the meaning of the incarnation for the past, the future, and the present. As the reader recalls the first coming of Christ into history, he or she may also direct the heart to the future, looking forward to the second coming of Christ at the end of the age, and simultaneously experience his transforming presence in the present. The reader could develop a spiritual formation in the Advent season with the inspirations from the Chinese cultural and wisdom resources.

Part I

Christ Is Born into History

1

O Lord, Come!

Scripture

“O Lord, come!” (1 Cor 16:22 NKJ)

“‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20)

Questions

1. Why do we focus on the theme “O Lord, come!” during Christmas season?

2. Christ was born in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago. Why do we still need to cry out “O Lord, come!”?

3. What does the call “O Lord, come!” mean for our personal lives today?

4. From the history of redemption in the Old Testament, how did the Israelites hope for the coming of the Lord?

5. In what ways do all things in the universe exclaim “O Lord, come!”?

Meditation

As we prepare for the Christmas season, we adjust our hearts and minds to a short but powerful melody, “O Lord, come!” (Maranatha, 1 Cor 16:22).

The prayer for the coming of the Lord has a double meaning. On the one hand, from a liturgical perspective, the season of Advent expresses the hope of the Lord’s coming. It uses the liturgical calendar to remember the coming of the Lord Jesus two thousand years ago. On the other hand, the season of Advent also encourages us every year to look forward to the second coming of the Messiah, just as the Israelites in the Old Testament did. This prayer reminds us of our intermediate identity (or dual identity). The Lord has already come in history and his coming into the world has enabled us to know God and to become God’s children. At the same time, as God’s children, we hope that he will return on the last day to bring heaven and earth together and to gather the people of the world into his eternal kingdom. Like Abraham, we are still travelers, embarking on the journey of hope. But Jesus has already been born, giving deep roots to our hope. From the testimony of Jesus’ birth, we are already members of the new covenant, but according to the hope of Christ’s second coming, we are like the members of the old covenant.

“O Lord, come!” This is not just a simple prayer; it is a cry of hope from the depths of our hearts, from history, and from nature.

Firstly, it is a cry to the Lord from the depths of every soul. Humanity was made by God, and God placed his image in the depths of every person’s heart, and so naturally the human heart reflects the glory of the triune God. God breathed his divine nature into human life, and so the human heart can find true rest only in fellowship with God. Exclaiming “O Lord, come!” is but a cry for God to come into his own place, to occupy our hearts as his own dwelling. The birth of Jesus fulfilled God’s plan of salvation in human history. The future of our salvation also lies in his coming, but it requires our work by means of prayer, preparation, and hope. The cry “O Lord, come!” is the alarm bell that opens our hearts.

Secondly, it is also the shout of Israel from the depths of history to the Lord. Ever since the sin of our first ancestors and their expulsion from paradise, it has become the eternal hope of humanity to overcome evil and to live again with the Lord in paradise. In his judgment upon evil—personified by the serpent—the Lord God prophesied: “The descendant of the woman will crush your heart” (Gen 3:15). Later, God called Israel out of all nations and made a covenant with their fathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to raise up “the blessing of all nations” (Gen 12:3) from among their descendants. In the events of the exodus from Egypt, God’s presence with the Israelites was symbolized by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. God even let his glory reside in the tabernacle of the people of Israel, thereby living among them. However, Israel’s life in the promised land was a history of failure: internally, they could not escape their own sinfulness, and externally, they continued to suffer the prolonged bullying of other powerful nations. Their hope for the Messiah was manifested in the proclamation made by generations of prophets, from the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isa 7:14), to the words of the last prophet, Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty” (Mal 3:1). The hymn of Mary and Zechariah represents the expectation of Abraham and the house of David. The cry “O Lord, come!” echoes the voice of all Israel.

Finally, it is also the cry of the whole created world to the Lord. The world God had originally created was harmonious and beautiful, but the relationship between human beings ruptured when our first ancestors disobeyed God’s command. Since humanity and the world are both created by God and are intrinsically connected, the sin of the first humans not only led to humanity’s expulsion from paradise, frailty, and suffering, it also affected the entire created order. “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen 3:17); the earth that provided fruit and vegetables for humanity now “will produce thorns and thistles” (Gen 3:18). In the days of Noah, because “the Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Gen 6:5), God judged humanity through a great flood, the whole created order was also implicated. Again, as the prophet Hosea said, “There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying” (Hos 4:2–4). Therefore, the battered and bruised land also sends out the deep cry of hope, yearning for salvation from heaven, “O Lord, come!” In the near future, our hearts, together with all things in heaven and earth, will hear and join in the cheers emanating from the universe, as sung in the book of Psalms: “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity” (Ps 98:7–9). The prayer “O Lord, come!” is the cry of all things in the world to their Creator.

In the coming three weeks of Advent, meditating on the birth of the Lord is both a memorial to the Lord’s first coming as well as an expectation of his second coming. In the first coming, the Lord Jesus was clothed in linen and placed in the manger; in the second coming, he will be clothed in glory and riding the clouds. In his first coming he was despised and crucified; in his second coming he will be revealed in power with numerous angels. We are living in an intermediary time. Through meditating on his first coming, we are waiting for his second coming. The constant refrain through the passage of time is the cheering voice of the disciples of the New Testament: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38; Matt 21: 9; John 12:13)

“O Lord, come!” We welcome you!

Prayer

O Lord God, Immanuel, come! Redeem your people. We wander here alone after being expelled from your garden, waiting for your coming.

Come, you are wisdom from heaven! The things that are near and far are determined by you, show us the Word of your truth, teach us the way of life.

Come, you are the Lord of Might! You appeared on the holy mountain of Sinai amid the cloud and fire; you gave Israel your law. Illuminate us with your pillar of fire and lead us by your pillar of cloud.

Come, you are the new branch of Jesse’s root! Save all those who trust in you from the hands of your enemies, may they overcome the threat of death and give birth to new sprouts of life.

Come, you are the key of the house of David! Open for us the door of our heavenly home, pave the way to highest heaven, where there are no longer sighs of sorrow and pain.

Come, you are the daylight that comes from heaven in the morning! Dispel the clouds of darkness and welcome us to your side. The shadow of death sees you and flees.

Come, you are the longing of all nations! The heart of humanity unites because of you, pacify all disputes and quarrels, let the peace of heaven fill this world.

Lord, we want you to come!

Amen.

2

My Spirit Rejoices in God

Scripture

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lo...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Part I: Christ Is Born into History
• Part II: Christ Is Born into the World
• Part III: Christ Is Born into Us
• Epilogue
• Bibliography