Introduction

Advent is a word that is used to describe the arrival of an event, an invention or a person. In the Christian calendar advent is the 24 days or 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas, a time of waiting and anticipation for the arrival of the Son of God. No doubt this time of expectation has already been filled with online and TV advertisements for all sorts of Christmas goodies that you couldn’t possibly do without, and supermarkets have been filled with foods to make your Christmas that bit more special. For the Christian, Christmas has a much deeper meaning that goes beyond the fripperies of a secular Christmas as we celebrate the arrival of one who is to become our Saviour and our Redeemer.

From the very beginning God had a plan for the salvation of humanity and that is where we will begin before going on to read how the story unfolds.

(The first 6 reflections are a bit longer than the rest, don’t panic they are not all that long!)

December 1st

Galatians 4:4-7

Today’s reading tells us that in the fullness of time, or at the right time or the appointed time God sent his Son born of a woman, subject to the law to redeem us who are under the law. What made it the right time? The sociological view of this would highlight a number of reasons why it was the right time.

  1. The Roman Empire has spread around the Mediterranean and we know that when the Romans moved in they built roads, very straight roads, and those roads facilitated travel. For the spread of the gospel this was incredibly useful.
  2. Language. As people travelled further, and international commerce grew, Greek became the common language of business. From the point of view of spreading the gospel this makes life a lot easier, it also helps breaks the gospel free from Judaism and makes it more available to everyone.
  3. There was a hunger for spiritual things. The belief in Greek and Roman gods and their mythology was losing its grip and people were searching for a God who could save them.
  4. The Jewish law which was meant to be a positive aspect of Judaism had become a burden to many as it became more complicated and onerous as the years went by.

It was the right time, but there are also other reasons. Prophetically the Jews are looking for the promised Messiah, Daniel 9: 24-27 talks about the coming Messiah and suggests a date when this prophecy would be fulfilled, calculated to be sometime in the 1st century AD. Paul would have been aware of this prophecy and he, along with many others, would have been looking for the Messiah to arrive.

Jesus, the Son of God, comes to earth as a human being. He is subject to all the challenges that we face as human beings. He doesn’t stay at a distance. God is not distant; he makes himself imminent and he comes as flesh and blood amongst us. He is born of a woman and subject to the same laws (natural and religious) that we are. He lived under the Jewish Law, he understood it, but he also surpassed it. He was human and yet the perfect Son of God, the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

He came to redeem us from the slavery of sin and the Law in order that we could be ransomed from our slavery and be adopted as true children of God. There was hope at the time that the Messiah was coming but of course we know that it wasn’t going to happen as expected.

From the very beginning God had a plan to redeem and restore humanity back to that Eden relationship that was so dreadfully broken. That plan included you and me. Moreover, there isn’t just ‘a Plan’ there is also a unique plan for each of us.

There is a plan’….. this makes my heart sing. Whenever the current woes of our time get you down remember there is a plan for salvation now and into the future, when God will reconcile everything in Christ (Col.1 :20).

Reflection.

Take a moment to thank God for his plan, think about how he has worked in your own life and the fact that he has not finished yet. Pray for those you know who need to experience the God who has a plan for them.