Reflection:
I was sitting in my office recently when suddenly a fire alarm was sounded. I didn’t know if I had missed the staff memo, so I sat at my desk for a moment, trying to discern if this was real or if it was a test. A few moments later, my door was opened by a member of the team, wearing a high visibility jacket, and carrying a backpack filled with emergency response equipment and holding a megaphone in his hand. This was more than the usual drill that I am used to, and I know that something was going down. Everyone was very serious, focused, and diligent. The building was evacuated, checklists were studied, and something of concern was flagged. The manifest said a visitor had signed into the church, and according to the administration logs, they were still inside. Just as we were about to escalate the problem, this beautiful parishioner came wandering out through the doors, almost oblivious to what was going on. He had found a quiet place to pray, which was, in fact, so quiet that we didn’t even realise he was still there! Thankfully, the event I am writing about was just a mock-up of our rescue plan, and thankfully, nobody needed to be rescued.
The name Jesus means ‘God rescues’. Christmas signifies the moment when God’s saving plan for humanity was activated. The Old Testament prophets had been sounding the alarms for centuries, but God’s people were oblivious, wandering around in their faith, like our guest in the church. But the manifest was showing clearly that many had not come home, and so a divine rescuer was going to be sent to seek, to search and to find the lost ones.
The name Jesus means ‘God Saves’. Jesus is God’s Rescue plan. The Saviour of the world has come, and at Christmas we marvel that the Son of God came in human form, humbled himself, and became our saviour. We marvel that the rescue plan of God, dreamed up and designed in the very council of heaven, finds its earthly, humble beginnings in an animal food trough, in a cave, in a backwater town. The angels proclaim, “Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11-2, NIV)
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are the saviour of the world, and today, I want to make that truth personal; you are my saviour. I join my heart to the prayer of the Psalmist in Psalm 31: “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name, lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.” Amen.