As we enter Christmas week 2021, I am both returning to the roots of my first ‘Advent Wonder’ 2014 reflections and reversing, turning over in part, these first starts. From the beginning the thought was to build a short, concise yet deepening thought on Advent over a four week period, twice a week. Focused on brevity as people are quite busy during this season, we opened the week on Mondays and closed the week on Fridays with these reflections.
This year I opened Mondays with Old Testament scriptures concerning the Messiah’s coming ( the 2021 series is entitled ‘his coming’ ) and closed Fridays with a corresponding New Testament scripture that contained and deepen Monday’s share.
So, this week of Christmas 2021, I will keep the focused brevity but share the New Testament Messianic words on Monday and the corresponding Old Testament one on Friday. Why?
Because this week He is no longer ‘coming’ but Jesus is here, He comes. So, we go today, not to a manger but to Jesus on the cross…
29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The last prayers of Jesus’ torturers, his murders is for Him to ‘come down.’
Praying, looking, pleading for a Messiah to come for hundreds of years, without a touch of self awareness and knowledge, they repeat this prayer for Jesus ‘to come.’ But they want him to ‘come down.’ They want a Jesus that fits their preconceived ideas of a Messiah. They say they want ‘to see’ but they are blind.
Blind to the fact that their, our, Messiah has come to a cross, by way of a manger, for all. He walked, ate, taught and spoke with them. He prayed for them. Yet, they still prayed for Him to ‘come down.’
Sadly, they do not see.
He comes, but some cannot see. Sadly, they see not.
My prayer: Lord, my Jesus, help me to see you, more and more, all days. Let me see you more. Come.
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