I wish.
I wish that I could enter into your darkness. I wish that I could heal your pain and shine some light on those nights when you cry deep into the darkness. I wish that I was the full moon for you; or even better, the light of the day. I wish that I could shine the divine light that glimmers new life across your skin and across your soul and make everything better.
I wish.
But, as the Bible says about John the witness, “he himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light,”
I am not the light (John 1:8). I cannot shine on you or make anything
new. No sores will be healed by my touch. I am not the creator of
life. I am not the giver of new life. But, I can point to the one
who is.
He is the one who shined on those first wisps of creation and gave them
life. He is the one who can enter into your locked room at night and
provide the light of joy on those dark nights.
Behold, Christ the light!
I wish.
I wish that I could free you from your own brokenness. I wish the
failures of the past would not hold you back quite so much. I wish that
you would not dwell on them again and again as you stare at the ceiling and
fail to go to sleep. I wish that you could be free of your
failures. I wish that you would feel truly free to be a child of
God. I wish that the sin that trips you up again and again would simply
go away. I wish that I could be a burnt offering for your sin. I
wish that your failures would burn with me and fade into the ether.
I wish.
But, as John the witness declares, “I am
not the Messiah.” Instead, he points
and says, “Among
you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me…Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world” (John 1:26, 29). Like John the
witness, I am not the Lamb of God. I am not the one who can take away
your sin. I am not the one who can free you from the damage you have
caused in the past. I am not the one who can wipe your slate clean.
Though I can declare forgiveness, I am not the one who can grant it in a way
that will actually bring you peace. I do not take away the sins of the
world. I cannot even take away my own sin! I am just as broken as
you. But, I can point to the one who can.
He is the one who promises to take away sin and make you new again. He is
the one who promises to be our last Passover lamb, who once and for all time
passes over our brokenness and says, “You are forgiven. Now, stop holding
onto it. You can let it go.” He is
the one who can save us from ourselves.
Behold, the Lamb of God!
I wish.
I wish that I could bring the holy to you. I wish that I could make this
Christmas sink into your heart in a way that the past ones could not. I
wish that I could just make it a rule that you believe, and you would just do
it. I wish that you could know the joy of faith, the peace that passes
all understanding, and the hope that still inspires the nations to be the best
that they can be. I wish that you could feel rooted deeply into something
greater than yourself. I wish you would be able to sense the spark of
divine presence in your very soul. I wish you had great faith.
I wish.
But, like John the witness, I am not the one who can give you the Holy
Spirit. John saw the Holy Spirit fall on Jesus like a dove. And, as John said, he was only sent to
baptize with water but there is another “who baptizes with the Holy
Spirit” (John 1:33). I cannot give you the gift of the Holy Spirit. I cannot strengthen the divine spark in
you. I cannot blow oxygen on it and make it blaze gloriously within your
soul, burning with colors of love and faith. I cannot make it outshine
all the stars, or outshine the holiday projections of snow flakes and bells on
the houses, or even outshine the huge, lit up, air filled Santas and
Frosties. I cannot do any of that. I cannot fill you with the Holy
Spirit. But, I can point to the one who can.
He is the one who created that divine spark in your soul in the first
place. He is the one who can blow on it, fanning the flames of divine,
holy love. He is the one who can fill you with the joy, the peace, and
the hope of the faithful. He is the one who can create great faith where
there once was very little.
Behold, the Son of God who baptizes with the Holy Spirit!
After-all, none of us are the savior of the world, nor are we even saviors our
own lives. None of us are self-made successes. None of us created
the greatness of our lives out of the chaos at the beginning of time.
None of us.
And, if we think that we are great because of our own efforts…if we think that
we are basically wonderful, sinless people who need no one to save us, then as
1 John 1:8 declares: “we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
The truth is: the best any of us can do is point to the one who can save.
Like the Christmas trees, the best we can do is point up to the light of the
world.
Like the shepherds, the best we can do is point our bodies toward the light of
the Christ child and walk in that direction.
Like the wise men, the best we can do is follow the light and then point our
faces to the ground, humbly offering the gifts that we bear to the light of the
world.
Like John the witness, the best we can do is point to Jesus Christ, the light
of the world.
In all we do and say, we can point to the one who died for the world, and who also
raises the world to new life; Jesus Christ.
So, have faith, not in me, but in Jesus. Have trust, not in me, but in
Jesus. Have hope, not in me, but in Jesus.
My own body will fail and disappoint. My own body can love you, but in an
imperfect and faltering way. My own body cannot give you new life.
My own body can only point to the one who can, the light of the world, Jesus
Christ. But, that is more than enough. Being one of those who
points others toward Jesus is more than enough.
The fact that I can only point to the light of the world means one thing
though; you may have to wait. I cannot make anything happen in your life
right now. I cannot make your pain go away right now. I cannot make
your guilt evaporate this instant. I cannot make joy fill your heart this
holiday season. That is up to God and God’s timing.
So, you may need to wait.
But, that is what this season of Advent before Christmas is all about is it
not? It is about waiting, with hope. It is about waiting with
faith. It is a season of trust. But, we do not trust in ourselves
or our neighbors. Rather, we trust in the Lord.
Wait for the Lord, be strong, have faith. Our Lord is near.
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