Ding dong merrily on high (and on earth too!)

 It's going to be a very different Christmas this year, and as I write this (mid-November) we're not sure how different it's going to be, but we do know that it is going to be unlike any Christmas we've had before.  But despite whatever restrictions will be in place, there is a general desire to make Christmas a happy and special time.  One of the ideas is to ring bells outside at 6.00pm on Christmas Eve, which seems very appropriate as bells, especially of the jingle variety, are almost synonymous with Christmas.  If you're in any doubt about that, try listening to the most summer-like song whilst shaking bells and you will think about Christmas!!

But why are bells associated with Christmas?  The association probably goes back to the ringing of church bells to celebrate one of the great feasts of the church year and their sound of joy contrasting with the dark and miserable winter weather.  This link has been solidified in the popular imagination by the use of bells as a warning on coaches and sleighs in the poor winter visibility, and of course no Christmas chart song is complete without bells!!

Surprisingly, there is no mention of bells in the Biblical accounts of Jesus' birth, although often they are mentioned in re-tellings of the story as the bells of heaven ringing in celebration or of the angels' songs sounding like bells.  Indeed there is almost no mention of bells at all in the Bible, but cymbals are often included in lists of instruments used to worship God.  However, one place where bells are mentioned are in the clothes that God instructs the High Priest to wear.  In Exodus 28 God tells Moses to anoint his brother Aaron as the first High Priest and that at the bottom hem of a blue robe he should make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn with gold bells between them. There are many different explanations of the purpose and symbolism of these bells, so we may never know for sure, but there are a couple that seem plausible to me.

Verse 34 says “The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die” and verse 43 repeats the warning.  The bells then are possibly an audible reminder to the High Priest that he is entering into the special presence of God and therefore should put aside the 'worldly' clothes of sinfulness and put on the 'heavenly' clothes of holiness.  Repentance is a pre-requisite for a relationship with God.  But the bells are also a reminder that as the High Priest leaves that special presence of God, he doesn't leave that holiness behind but brings it out into the world – the soft sound of the precious gold being the wonderful message of God spoken into a cacophonous world.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4), not just coming as a messenger from God but, as we celebrate at Christmas, 'God-with-us'; God himself in human form.  And the wonderful message that he brings is that he has made it possible for all of us to enter into God's special presence because Jesus is not just the great High Priest but also because “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).  So grab your bells or anything else to celebrate the good news that makes Christmas worth keeping whatever our circumstances!!

Advent Reflections 2020: Isaiah's Titles for Jesus - 4: Prince of Peace

 

For our Advent reflections this year we're looking at the titles Jesus is given in Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

This week's title for Jesus is probably one of his best known - Prince of Peace - but it doesn't necessarily mean what we think it does. The image we sometimes have is of Jesus being the most calm and peaceful person ever; someone who floats above life never getting phased by anything or anyone; the 'ideal man' of Rudyard Kipling's poem 'If' who treats triumph and disaster the same. You only have to read a couple of chapters of one of the Gospels to know that Jesus was fully human and experienced human emotions like anger, tiredness, grief and exasperation. So what then does the title Prince of Peace mean?

To the Israelites of Isaiah's day the title 'Prince' did not necessarily mean royalty, but was used of a military leader and so it links with the 'Mighty God' title to denote power and authority. Often in the Old Testament the title Prince is used of a national leader (Ezekiel 38) and even of a supernatural being who has responsibility for a nation (e.g. Daniel 10). But Jesus, even though he is the Jewish Messiah, is not a national leader or even a tribal God, he is the Prince of Peace.

For us, peace usually means the absence of war or conflict between nations or groups of people, but the Hebrew word 'shalom', which we usually translate as peace, is better translated wholeness. So Jesus, as Prince of Peace, is going to fight a battle to bring wholeness. When we looked at the title 'Mighty God' we thought about the battle that Jesus fought against the powers of evil, sin and death which he defeated by this death and resurrection.  The consequence of that victory is that we who are sinners can be forgiven because he died to “redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14).  Humanity was broken by Adam's disobedience but Jesus' obedience even to death and resurrection restores those who trust in him to wholeness.  Thus we can, by the Holy Spirit be conformed to Christ's likeness.

Not only can we be restored as humans but more importantly as St Paul wrote “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).  Our relationship with God is restored and made whole again.  And it is only by having that relationship restored, and by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, that reconciliation between people can be achieved.  Only by recognising that we are all sinners; all equally in need of God's mercy; all unworthy recipients of God's grace; that we can truly forgive those who have sinned against us.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and of the increase of his peace there will be no end (verse 7).  We celebrate what he has achieved on the cross but look forward to his return when his eternal reign of peace will be over all the world. In the meantime, we are called to share this wonderful message: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7).  Let's make the most of the opportunity that Christmas gives us to tell others the good news!

Advent Reflections 2020: Isaiah's Titles for Jesus - 3: Everlasting Father

For our Advent reflections this year we're going to look at the titles Jesus is given in Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The previous two titles Isaiah gives to Jesus are fairly straightforward, but today's makes us stop and think. I suspect when we hear the verse in the midst of a fuller reading we mentally skip this title and think about the other three, and that is because we've just called Jesus the 'Everlasting Father'. We looked last week about Jesus as 'Mighty God' and how that reminds us that not only is Jesus divine but there is a plurality within the Godhead. We find it hard enough to get our heads around the doctrine of God as Trinity; Three-in-One and one-in-Three, but now we seem to be saying that God the Son is also the 'Everlasting Father'!

This title is used to emphasise two aspects of the Messiah: firstly that he is everlasting – that he has no beginning or end. His everlasting or eternal nature is also brought out in the surrounding verses that speak of there being no end to his reign. This is yet another indication of Jesus' divinity.

Secondly, the title tells us that his character is father-like. His government will not rule by fear and oppression but will be characterised by peace, justice and righteousness (verse 7). Isaiah 40:11 says “He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Jesus picks up on this language when he refers to himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10) and refers to his disciples as his 'children' (John 13:33). Jesus will be father-like because he is a compassionate provider and protector.

To call Jesus 'Everlasting Father' is not to confuse him with God the Father, but to remind us that he is one with the Father (John 10:30, 38) and he is the perfect image of God the Father, the exact representation of his being (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) If we want to know what God is like we look at Jesus (John 14:9-10).

But Jesus is also a Father in a special way in that he is the author and pioneer of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10-13 and 12:2). As Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary on Isaiah 9:6 “[Jesus] was, from eternity, the Father of the great work of Redemption: his heart was upon it; it was the product of his wisdom, as the Counsellor; of his love, as the everlasting Father”.

Advent Reflections 2020: Isaiah's Titles for Jesus - 2: Mighty God

For our Advent reflections this year we're going to look at the titles Jesus is given in Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

“Unto us is born a son, unto us a child is given” Isaiah proclaims, and the question is who is this child?  Isaiah has already prophesied the birth of a son in 7:14 - “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” and the word translated 'virgin' could simply mean a young woman.  In 8:3 Isaiah marries a prophetess who gives birth to a son who might be the immediate fulfilment of this prophecy.  However, the deeper meaning of the prophecy is brought out in 9:6.

We saw last week how the son is to be a 'Wonderful Counsellor' which could be applied to a great human.  If you think about some of the famous figures in history, there is often something about them or their lives which inspires wonder, and thousands of memes spread wise words that have been spoken through the ages.  However the next description of the son leaves us in no doubt about who he is: he is the 'Mighty God'.

There is no distinction to be made here between Jesus as the 'Mighty God' and YHWH / Jehovah as the 'Almighty God' as if Jesus were some sort of demi-god or a lesser deity.  This is because YHWH (the personal name for God in the Old Testament identified as the one Creator God and the God who made a covenant with Abraham and his family) is also called 'Mighty God' in Isaiah 10:21 and Jeremiah 32:18.  So the 'son' is clearly identified as equal to the one Creator and covenantal God YHWH, and here we have another reference to a plurality within the Godhead, which eventually comes into focus in the doctrine of the Trinity.  Therefore, 'virgin' is an appropriate translation, not only because the word refers to a young, unmarried woman who in those times would have been a virgin, but also because a virgin giving birth points to the unique nature of the 'son' as both human and divine.

The name 'Mighty God' has overtones of powerfulness and strength particularly in battle, and this reminds us that Jesus didn't just come to do miraculous deeds, or give amazing teachings, but that he came to fight the spiritual enemies of sin and death.  The contrast between a weak, helpless baby and a conquering warrior is one that is so great that many people will separate the baby Jesus from the adult 'Jesus Christ' – they are happy to celebrate his birth as being a joyous occasion, but they don't want to 'buy in' to what he did as an adult.  However, in the good news of Jesus the two are inseparable: Paul tells us “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) and Jesus himself said that he came to give his life as a ransom (Mark 10:45).  The way he saved sinners is by defeating sin and death through his death on the cross (Colossians 2:13-15).

To acclaim Jesus as the Mighty God is to remind ourselves that there is no greater power in heaven or on earth than him.  So we need not be afraid of our own failings, or death, or even COVID-19.  Turn to Jesus, the Mighty God, this Christmas and feel the power of his protection.

Advent Reflections 2020: Isaiah's Titles for Jesus - 1: Wonderful Counsellor

 

For our Advent reflections this year we're going to look at the titles Jesus is given in Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The first title that Isaiah foretells for Jesus is 'Wonderful Counsellor'. Jesus is wonderful in the sense that he arouses in us a sense of wonder and awe and marvel. Unfortunately, we are so familiar with the events of Jesus' life that they lose something of that sense of wonder, but as we read the gospels we are constantly told how the reaction of the crowds to Jesus was one of amazement, not just at his miracles, but also at his teaching (e.g. Mark 1:27). It is the same as we approach Christmas; familiarity blind us to the amazing events surrounding Jesus' birth, like the angels, the star and the virgin birth itself. Similarly, we need to recover our wonder at the very coming of Jesus, how “...within a manger lies / he who built the starry skies” “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). The most wonderful thing about Jesus is that he came to earth from his glory in heaven so that he could die to redeem us from our sins.

The title 'Counsellor' helps us to see in greater detail what Jesus does. It firstly reminds us of Jesus' place in the Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are a communion of Persons in perfect unity. The idea of them taking counsel together is a really difficult one to comprehend because we humans take counsel in order to fill in gaps in our knowledge, but God has no such lack of knowledge. The Divine 'consultation' (which we see for example in Genesis 1:26) is more a reminder that each Person of the Trinity acts freely to fulfil the Divine will. So in the Philippians quote we saw that Jesus was obedient to the Father, and in John 16:13 Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit “will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears [from the Father and the Son]” - in both cases there is the inference that the Son and the Spirit choose to act in that way. This contradicts the argument of atheists like Richard Dawkins who say that the Father commits child-abuse by sending Jesus to die for our sins. The crucifixion was the eternal plan of the Trinity for the atonement of human sin – Jesus went to his death willingly because it was his plan from before Creation! This is reflected in another way the phrase 'Wonderful Counsellor' can be translated: “Wonder-working Planner”.

Jesus' rôle as Counsellor also tells us about his relationship to us – he imparts wisdom and truth to us. But he is not just one more voice among many, he is not someone whose teachings have the same value as any other speaker – only he has the words of eternal life (John 6:68), because only he is Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24) and Truth (John 14:6). Despite this, Jesus' words do not come to us as a divine diktat, but as an invitation to life in all its fullness and a sign that he is concerned with our welfare – whoever obeys his words will never see death (John 8:51). In these uncertain and frightening times, who better to turn to than our Wonderful Counsellor?