Advent Reflection: 1 Peter 1
Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. This year will forever be marked with the birth of our first grandson. We were there, holding the minutes old baby, looking for family resemblance, taking pictures, filling up with joy. That son changed our lives--no longer parents, but grand- parents. The familiar refrain of Isaiah in Handel’s Messiah reminds us that Christmas is about the birth of a son who would change the world: wonderful counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. We celebrate the birth of the son in a manger with joy to Mary and Joseph, shepherds, wise men, the world and to us. Christmas is also about another birth—our birth. John tells us in his gospel that Jesus is the word who entered the world he made; he came to his own but his own did not receive him; but to those who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God (John 1). And our birth to new life brings joy, too. Peter writes ...