By Pr. Cara Jensen, former Summer Ministry Team member
Imagine for a moment that you are in a warm cozy place. You are wrapped up in a blanket, and you feel safe and provided for. Outside of the blanket, there could be cold or other things going on, but inside the blanket, you do not have a worry or concern. That place inside the warmth and cozy is what I think about when I think about love.
Now imagine a table with four legs: all of the legs are stable; none are shorter than another and when you push on it from one side or the other it doesn’t move even a fraction of an inch. That is support, a stable footing if you will.
Love and support. If we have both things, then we might consider ourselves to be profoundly blessed. At the center of all things, it is what each of us needs and wants. It is through love and support that we are able to do many things in the world, and for those who do not have one or both of these things, the world can look like a very bleak place.
This week is the fourth week of Advent. Each candle in the advent wreath has held for us the hope, peace, joy, and love that we hold to while we wait for the coming of Christ. As Christian people, we need to take a moment to recall during this time that it is God who has loved and supported us through all of the things we do. When Christ came into the world thousands of years ago, He came with a message of love and support to those who were lost and afraid. At that time, people who God had called to care for others were negligent and forgetful. Those who were ruling were corrupt and controlling, people were apathetic and full of ego and selfishness. People are still this way. God didn’t come and directly change people, rather God came to fulfill the promise of God’s love, and it is because of God’s actions that people changed and are still being changed.
God sent Christ to show us the promise of God in flesh and blood. This is what ultimate love and support look like. Love through Christ and support through the Holy Spirit are the fulfillment of God’s promise to be our Emmanuel, God with us.
As we enter the final week of waiting for Christ to come as a baby, we hold to the love and support of God. I hope that this week you feel the blanket of love and support that God provides. Amen.
