Sunday, November 23, 2014

Love Came Down at Christmas

I know it isn’t Christmas yet, and if you are reading this, you might be thinking we haven’t even hit Thanksgiving yet, why are you talking about Christmas? Well, I am one of those who watch Christmas movies year round, and the music, well it stays on pretty regularly. So it should be no surprise that I sat down tonight and watched a new Hallmark movie called “Signed, Sealed, Delivered at Christmas.” 

At one point in the movie, the words “Love came down at Christmas” were spoken between two of the lead characters. It was one of those aha! Moments. You know the ones that tears instantly spring to your eyes, and for just one second it takes your breath away. I can’t remember the whole conversation, nor could I find the quote online, but it talked about the love that came down. And with that love came hope.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in everything that begins to take place during these busy seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s so easy to forget why it is that we even celebrate Christmas, but as I continued towatch the movies with tears in my eyes, I was reminded why.

I was reminded of the beauty that the upcoming season of Advent brings. Reminded of the story of Christmas that over the next month will be told over and over and over again in churches and throughout families around the world. Reminded of the hope that came with one special little boy. Reminded that life, though it may be hard at times and seem like it’s too much to handle can eventually bring great joy. I was reminded of HOPE.

Most of all, I was reminded of a great hymn, written first as a poem by Christina Rosetti in the mid-to-late 1800's:

“Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love shall be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.”

Throughout my life, I have lost hope many times. Even as I sit here typing this out, I have tears in my eyes because sometimes I know that hope is so hard to find, and sometimes it feels like God isn’t even there, or maybe God is there but God doesn’t care. But the beautiful thing about hope is that even when you lose it, or you think you are losing it, love is right there to offer it back to you. It may not happen immediately, it may take a longtime, but no matter the length, love walks right alongside holding your hand, waiting for you to be ready to receive the hope you thought you had lost.

The only thing that I know for sure about this love is that it is a gift from God, if not an extension of the persona of God. I have also found that people find this love differently. I found it tonight in the form of a movie. Some find it in the laughter of a child, or in the beauty of a sunset,or as we anxiously await, we find it in the straw of a manger on a late night. 

As we enter this time of advent, of great expectancy, and of hope in this “love that comes at Christmas,” my prayer for you is that you will know that the love that came down at Christmas all those years ago, is the love that walks with you every moment of every day, even when it feels like you have nothing left, and all hope seems lost. Just close your eyes and breathe. Allow that love to come over you, or maybe just allow that love to simply sit with you, “Love shall be yours and love be mine.” Love is here and love is ours.