advent day twenty


The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29
Myrrh

Even in the joy of a new born baby, in the jubilation of heavenly choirs, in the excitement of a stable full of shepherds and donkeys, there are premonitions that this story will not have a happy ending.

What was the wise man thinking, as he unwrapped his present of myrhh? Did he sense somehow that this baby’s future had a shadow hanging over it?

What did John the Baptist think, as he proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God? Did he really understand that the sacrifice of a spotless lamb for the sins of the people was about to played out with a human sacrifice?

Christmas is not just about ‘good tidings of comfort and joy’, but about hard questions of life and death.

And about a man who, through his life and death, may just hold the answer to those questions.

A song for Mary...

And did she see there
In the straw by his head a thorn
And did she smell myrrh
In the air on that starry night
And did she hear angels sing
Not so far away
Till at last the sun rose blood-red
In the morning sky
Thorn in the Straw– Graham Kendrick

Jesus– lamb of God



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