A CHRISTMAS SURPRISE

2024 Advent Series @ The180

I don’t really like surprises. I think it’s because they make me feel that I am not fully in control. When someone surprises me with something, I even wonder, how did they trick me? But I am learning that sometimes the loss of control is what changes our perspective. It is what helps us to see the goodness that God wants to offer us in this season of Christmas.

To help us loosen our grip, our hearts need be open to the unexpected. Christians have noticed that we can learn to do this by cultivating a sense of anticipation. This is why we call the period leading up to Christmas, Advent. Advent not only means ‘anticipation’, but in a deeper sense it also means being open to the kind of surprises that reveal how God is preparing something new for us.

If you are like me, you can get overwhelmed with all the work, planning and added stuff associated with Christmas. But during the busyness of it all, we must learn to make time to focus on the surprises that God is offering us. As we’ll see, it may come as we consider a quiet whisper to a young girl who’s ready to obey. Or it may come in a flash of wisdom reminding us that this is ‘good news of great joy for all’. Whatever it may be, we can’t lose sight of the fact that at Christmas, God takes on flesh to come near to surprise us again. (John 1:14)

Because of the many distracting ways we’ve been shaped by our culture to understand Christmas, it will be almost impossible to be surprised by this familiar story. Nevertheless, we pray that this Advent, you will join us as we open the Bible to hear the story of Christmas anew. As we do this, may we be open and ready to see and to respond to God’s surprises, which can stir hope, joy and peace, because God has come to be with us.

Pastor Domenic Ruso PhD

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