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Advent Love
Jamie Corbin • Dec 18, 2023
Jamie's Reflections on Love
In 2021, we shared some reflections throughout Advent. We want to make these available on the blog and share them with you! We pray that you are blessed by them as you enter into the waiting of Advent.
Us & Jesús
He was named Jesús, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. The angel said, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
—Luke 2:21
Nuestro padre nombra a sus hijos y sus propósitos con amor. Usted, mí, Jesús—todos nosotros nombrados a propósito y nuestros propósitos proclamados mucho antes de nuestro llegada a la tierra.
Our father God names his children and their purposes with love. You, me, Jesús— all of us purposefully named, and our purpose proclaimed, long before our arrivals earthside.
What must it have been like for those of us who witnessed the birth and naming of the messiah in real time?
Our savior’s manger birth declared God’s plan with sovereign certainty even as our ancestors faced the waves of uncertainty that come when a world turns upside down.
The shepherds witnessed firsthand the new way unfurl through the night, as the world began to break free from the shackles of sin that bastardized the intended beauty of Eden. But most people fell asleep in one world and woke up in another, communally experiencing the tension of discovery and disbelief that everything had changed. Their familiar became foreign, and there was no going back. No había vuelta altrás.
Did Adam and Eve’s trauma from walking out of the garden and into the world’s first instance of uncertainty reverberate through time, triggering communal reactions of heartbreak and despair, fear and rage, hatred and divisiveness?
Did those whose comfort, power, and status were threatened by Kingdom dynamics concoct wild conspiracy theories about whose theology could be trusted and which political power would fulfill promises of prosperity?
Did the young mother Mary pray to her maker to make it all make sense?
In December of 2021, the Christmas story reads a little differently than it would have just two years ago, as the trauma of living outside the garden continues to manifest in our communities and our own experiences with uncertainty continue to develop.
However, the Christmas story allows us to be certain in times of uncertainty:
We have been named by a loving Father. We, too, have been called into purpose.
Naming & Knowing
Naming is a powerful declaration of purpose, a two-sided statement about what the named is and what it isn’t. Names are about identity. Names are about being known and being called.
We’ve been named by the Most High. Our identity as beloved has been declared and our assigned purpose is to love others in a way that brings glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
As a Christian community, how are we doing with living into this identity? Or, to put a Christmas star point on the question—are you currently known by your love? Am I?
Let’s not answer too quickly, lest we lose the opportunity to hear from the one whose words speak life and healing, truth and grace, power and mercy to the world.
The world continues spinning in uncertainty, waiting hopefully for the future and desperate for God’s people to be clear about their calling, their names, and their purpose. We cannot be the ancestors who stand idly by in uncertain times or surrender when the enemy comes with accusations and lies. We must instead stand firm in our faith, remembering that our Father calls us and believing that he has placed us purposefully in these times to get our jobs done.
And then, we must get on with it. ¡Tenemos que actuar!
We must follow the lead of our ancestors as envoys of the never-ending kingdom; we must answer the call to upside down the world around us with love, messy work though it may be, for that is our inheritance.
Que el mundo no conozca por nuestro amor, especialmente en tiempos de incertidumbre.
May the world know us by our love, especially in times of uncertainty.
And, may each generation continue to labor for the glory of God, calling the kingdom of Jesús more and more into our world with each act of love.
Y que cada generación continue trabajando por la gloria de Dios, llamando al reino de Jesús cada ves más a nuestro mundo con cado acto de amor.
Resources & Inspiration
Some resources on the Atonement
Some thoughts on why we do things the way we do at RCB.
How do we walk when we feel attacked and alone?
Going through Lent, allowing God to tune our hearts to worship.
An invitation into knowing God's faithfulness through pain.
A review of Christianity and Critical Race Theory
On trying to follow Jesus in a consumerist culture.
Mario's reflections on Lent and privilege.
This is how I remember Lent as a kid: go to mass on Ash Wednesday (I have no memory of any sermon, lol), vow to give up something (that lasted as long as a New Year’s resolution), and eat Long John Silver’s fried fish on Fridays (their hushpuppies and crunchies…mmmm). We didn’t eat meat on Fridays (unless we forgot, but we prayed, so it was ok); it was something everyone in the church did, right? I knew it was leading up to Easter--other than that, I had no real understanding or connection to it. Lent was taught more like an obligation rather than an opportunity. An opportunity to reflect, rejoice, rest, repent (what other “r” words can we think of?) on Christ’s journey to the cross. The next 40 days is an opportunity, an invitation to draw closer to the Giver of Life. For some, this might look sacrificial (giving something up), for others it might be a genesis (starting something new), or it can be a combination of the two. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth, As it is in heaven” Our Lord doesn’t just teach us to pray, he embodies prayer. He inaugurates God’s kingdom on earth through his presence with us; through his faithful obedience, we get to see and experience heaven on earth. This does not come without temptation, and trials, and wandering astray at times—yet our loving God invites. He invites us to remember, to reengage with the One who creates and holds all things; He invites us to lay down our lives and pick up our crosses. We want to invite you to participate with RCB, as we journey with Christ to Calvary, praying for the strength to be obedient… Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth, As it is in heaven.
A book review of Peter Sung's excellent The Post-Church Church.