You do not need to be strong - The somewhat different Advent Calender XXI ...

Friday, Dec 21, 2012. There are days, where you are not fit. You feel weak and tired. Perhaps, you just got a cold, and things will be better in some days. But you never know, life can be short and fragile.

Weak reed and flickering candle …

In the book of Isaiah, Chapter 42, we find a sentence, which is a direct word about Christmas. It is written: “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will faithfully bring forth justice”. The word is both about Jesus himself, his mission and his life. He brings justice to us!

But there is this other remark, which always strikes me. He will not crush the weakest reed. Other translations write “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” This describes how God is treating us. It describes grace and mercy. It describes the way in which we are taken into his family. We are allowed to be weak, bruised, smoldering …!

When it comes to God, you do not need to be strong. You may be weak. You may be single. You may be lonely. You may not being able. All this is not of importance any more. Now, the mercy of the eternal Lord has come to you.

Ripe for Christmas …

I think, there is a real reason to be joyful at Christmas. The reason is not to be found in the may presents we may get, not in the Christmas markets or in the lights. All this is fine with me, but not important. But his mercy is important, the way he comes to us. When you are tired to be stong and good and capable, then you are ripe for Christmas. When you want to get rid of the facades, when you do not want to continue to pretend to be something, you are ripe for Christmas.

It fills my heart with joy, that the Lord comes to us and does not expect us to bring much. He does not expect us to be strong and powerful. He does not expect high capacity of activity. But he expects purity of the heart. He expects truth and truthfulness. But if we do not have all of this, he still will not break us. He will judge us, yes, but he himself brings justice to us and offers us the justice we need to pass judgement.

Sometimes we feel strong. But that feeling can pass quickly, and we all, as humans, will have our weakest moments. Christmas tells us that we can be glad, even if we are weak. The Lord has come to us as a weak baby. He has come to us and wants to be with us in our strength as well as our weaknesses. The angel in the Christmas story (Luke 2) spoke of “great joy”, which is for all the people. Joy, when we are weak! Yes. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts