AfterWords: "Towards Bethlehem" (Jeremiah)

 

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The season of Advent begins today (Dec. 1st). Really, we Christians should greet each other on the first Sunday of Advent with, “Happy New Year!” because this is the beginning of the new Church year. But, Advent—what is that? Advent comes from the Latin adventus, a word that translates best as “to come to.” Every year (if not every day!), we need this season to be reminded that God has come to us, so Advent is that initial season of the church year when we remember.

I really love this season for the lights, the decorations, the music. And, I love this season because it reminds us that we are connected to an ancient story. This is the season we hear the words of the prophets of old reminding us that this Jesus story is not something new but something ancient that God planned long ago…a plan for God to come to us.

The prophets of the Old Testament serve as harbingers, leaving hints of things to come. Some of their prophecies are straight up, clear; others are suggestions of what will be. Our reading today from the prophet Jeremiah comes some 600 years before Jesus’ birth. But, his words had everything to do with Jesus’ birth.

Jeremiah talks about a new covenant, a new agreement between God and humanity—

    ·   God’s law will be within … written on hearts.
    ·   God and the people will belong to each other.
    ·   God will be known.
    ·   Sins will be forgiven…and forgotten.

What better place to have God’s law than written in our hearts?

For God to be ours and for us to belong to God?

To know God, to really know—not just know about—but to know God?

And, to have our missteps and mistakes, our “trespasses,,” our sins – all forgiven…all forgotten?

In Jeremiah, we get a glimpse of things to come. Today, in this season of Advent, we begin our journey towards Bethlehem. Today we begin looking with anticipation and expectation to what will happen when God fulfills his promise “to come to” us. As we gather each Sunday for worship over the next few weeks, let us remember that the lights, the tree, the Chrismons, the poinsettias, the wreaths—all of these point us towards the One who comes to us in Bethlehem.

Amen

Sunday, December 1, 2024
“Towards Bethlehem”
Watch/Listen: HERE