Heartache and hope
by Pastor Mark Lieschke
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‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against’ (Luke 2:34b).
It’s amazing how fast the joy of the Christmas can fade and the challenges of everyday life can crowd right back in on us. In a sense, it is back to the real world now.
I suppose it should not surprise us. If we look at the words to some Christmas carols, we find, among the warm images of the Saviour’s birth, the stark reality of his suffering and death. In the carol, Anna’s Song, we sing the words:
Place this child in the shade,
hang this child ‘neath a tree;
with his hand on the wood
may this child set us free.
And then in What Child is This, we sing:
Nails, spear shall pierce him through
the cross be borne for me, for you.
Soon after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph travelled to Jerusalem to present him at the temple for the Jewish rites of purification. There Simeon told them of God’s plan for his people. Simeon knew that God was at work in this baby. In this child was God’s personal presence with and for his people. In his baby, God had come to live with us.
But Simeon also said to Mary that Jesus was ‘destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel … and a sword will pierce your own soul too’ (Luke 2:34,35).
These words of Simeon, and their fulfilment, are just as much a part of the Christmas story as those about the angels and the shepherds. The Christmas story is not a delightful fairytale; it is the celebration of the birth of Christ – Christ who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. His birth marks the beginning of a hard and bitter struggle for him, because of our sin.
But he was prepared to do this – for us. And he promises that as we endure suffering and pain, he will be at work in us and will give us what we need to be strong, faithful, and full of joy.
There is heartache on the other side of Christmas. But there is also hope. We have the cross – a symbol of the greatest pain that Jesus endured for us, but also a reminder of his sacrificial love, and the sure hope we have of eternal life.
Loving Lord Jesus, you came as a baby in Bethlehem, but you also came to live, serve, suffer, die, and rise again for us. Help us remember and celebrate your whole life, and the certain hope that we have because of it. In your name, we pray. Amen.
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