The announcement of Jesus’ arrival comes to an unlikely group: the shepherds. This rag-tag group were often looked down on, forgotten, and considered to be far from religious or noble. Yet the greatest announcement in the history of the world comes to them, not to the rich and powerful but to the lowly shepherds. It suggests to us that God hasn’t forgotten the least of us – to him, we are unforgettable. We are favored, not forgotten by the Messiah who ushers in the age of favor and forgiveness. When we grasp it, it causes joy in us to overflow. Joy that sustains in hardship. Joy that is rooted in God’s faithfulness. We were destined for joy.

When we’re able to strip back the overly-familiar parts of the story of Christmas it reveals the heart of the Christian faith. Something isn’t quite right with us and our world. We’re not always the people we want to be. And we’ve not always treated ourselves, other people and our world as we should. As silly as it may sound, is not our recent entertainment of going ‘full on goblin mode’, at least in part an admittance that everything else we’ve tried to bring happiness and self-actualisation hasn’t quite got us to where we want to go? Christmas says what we’re in need of is not something from within us, but something from without. It’s the story of God coming in search of his people. He’s come to love us into full existence. It’s only when we know his love revealed in the person of his Son Jesus that we won’t want to ever be anyone else again. And it’s his love that lifts us up into healing, forgiveness, purpose and meaning. He it is who we’re looking for. It’s why we celebrate. We’re not alone. God is with us.

We don’t always do the church calendar thing, but sometimes it does seem to know a thing or two. Advent is all about allow ourselves to enter into the time of waiting that was the Hebrews existence for hundreds and hundreds of years. They know the messiah was coming to be the Prince of Peace, but they weren’t expecting the way he came to do it. We are not promised a peaceful life (ie - a life free of violence, persecution, conflict of tribulation) but we are promised the peace of his presence, that surpasses all understanding.

This is the first Sunday of Advent. This time of year we reflect and celebrate the arrival of Jesus. He came into the world not to judge it but to renew it. The time leading up to his arrival was a dark one characterized by rebellion, injustice and a longing for wholeness. In the mist of this less than ideal scenario we read of Jesus’ coming as the one who brings light into the darkness. He does this in our lives, he runs into the darkness. His embodied presence and creative power means that we’re not overtaken by it because his light shines on us. This is our hope and it grows as we worship the One who can never be put out by the darkness.