“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For water break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes” (Isaiah 35:5-7).
The birth of Jesus is God’s gift of immeasurable riches. It’s form and plenty to a submerged, desolate earth (Genesis 1:2). It’s the joy of conception to a barren womb (Genesis 11:30; 21:1-2). It’s the open air of liberty to an enslaved people (Exodus 15:1-18). The apostle Paul writes that God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:2) and that in Christ “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us” (Ephesians 1:7-8). Where our world has named scarcity “abundance” and nothing “plenty,” Christ declares its true name (Revelation 2:17). The psalmist tells us that God provides justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, freedom for the prisoner, sight for the blind, exaltation for the lowly, protection for those far from home, and support for those who have none (Psalm 146:7-9). In the birth of Christ, God fills his world with life, teeming, brimming, and spilling over with life upon life; he pours forth everything of his world into our world for us to enjoy; he fills us with his riches, treasures of true life which our souls take hold of by faith (1 Timothy 6:17-18).
John the Baptist’s ministry was characterized by restraint and dearth, the simplicity and single-mindedness of prophetic word. He “came neither eating nor drinking” (Matthew 11:18; this was his proper ministry as Forerunner). Jesus, on the other hand, “came eating and drinking” (Matthew 11:19). However, his wealth (indeed, his food; see John 4:32) was not that of “kings’ houses” (Matthew 11:8). Rather, “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:5). Rather than in earthly goods, Christ’s riches consist in wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3), in “the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 11:11).
These “riches” aren’t always easy to see. Our vision is often crowded by scenes of earthly resource or poverty, indulgence or desperation. Amid the earth’s bounty, however, Jesus lays “the Way of Holiness,” the sacred highway down which his people parade in song toward God’s city (Isaiah 35:8-10). The psalmist writes, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” and “the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” (Psalm 146:3, 9). Like a farmer waiting patiently for his harvest, God’s people wait patiently for “the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7). Like the prophets, including John the Baptist, we wait in suffering and patience for the transparency of the full measure of his riches before our eyes (Matthew 11:3; James 5:10), the fruition of God’s purpose (James 5:11).
Today, I’d ask you to consider the wealth of God’s kingdom—and what sort of wealth it is! In Scripture, in the Church, in what God’s doing in the world, we’re given an abundance: an abundance of images for us to behold, of direction for us to follow, of meaning for us to contemplate, and finally of God’s own life for us to live within (Acts 17:24-28). As James puts it, riches rot, clothes are eaten by moths, gold and silver corrode, and all these things in which we trust testify against us in judgment (James 5:2-5). While “we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of world” (1 Timothy 6:7), we await the appearing of Jesus “who alone has immortality,” whose riches do not fade (1 Timothy 6:16).
Further Reading: Psalm 146:4-9; Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Written by Guest House Theologian, Tim Morgan. These reflections are a complimentary addition to our Advent Blend Bags.
More Advent reflections can be found here.