Advent: Our Sorrow Leads to Joy

I’m an orphan. This will be my first Christmas without a parent with whom to share its joy. There are no more phone calls talking about Christmas concerts (a motherly favorite), no more cards with that special, familiar handwriting, no more gifts picked out especially to spoil her. Mother died right before last Easter. After her massive stroke a year ago and slight recovery for a few months, the Lord graciously took her into glory. So, now I’m an orphan. Or, as I tell my members when they lose a parent: “Now you’re a big person!” That is, your special parental safety net is gone, and family responsibilities now rest squarely upon you.
Holidays can be difficult times for those left behind. I don’t mean to minimize anyone’s feelings if that describes you, but Christ long ago replaced my human sorrow with great joy at my mother’s advent into heaven. And now, as we stand on the verge of Christ’s Advent, I can almost hear her utter those familiar words: “The Lord is good!” And isn’t it amazing that His almighty goodness calms our hearts, stills our fears, and takes away our sorrow in the form of an Infant? Only God could conceive, deign, and design such a wondrous turn of events.
My mother was a long-time choir director at her church. She loved hymns. She loved Christmas carols. She loved my favorite Advent hymn: “O Lord, How Shall I Meet Thee” (TLH 58). She well knew the awful (humanly speaking) life of its author, the Lutheran pastor Paul Gerhardt, back in the mid 1600s. He lost his parish, his wife, his children, etc. to warfare and strife. Yet, from all that human anguish and sorrow bursts his paean of praise to the coming Christmas King. More than once my mother and I shared those amazing words of verse three:
I lay in fetters, groaning, Thou com’st to set me free;
I stood, my shame bemoaning, Thou com’st to honor me;
A glory Thou dost give me, A treasure safe on high,
That will not fail or leave me, As earthly riches fly.
As a Christian, I’ll let you in on a special secret: all of us are orphans, and yet we’re not orphans at all. When we reflect on our lives and gaze into our hearts we’re forced to own up to our personal failings, our sins of commission and omission. We’re forced to face the Almighty Judge of the universe alone, with no parent to intervene and tell us everything will be all right. Alone we stand at the abyss between the human and the Divine, between time and eternity. We’re orphans chained, groaning, and ashamed of our pitiful attempts to attain heavenly paternity by our own efforts. And yet, into that inner void steps the Baby Jesus. He literally joins Himself to our very flesh. He takes upon Himself our burdens and griefs. And He tells His Holy Father: “On account of Your love for Me, adopt them!” And God has and does! Yes, for the believer sorrow is always replaced with joy!
Advent is our special time to prepare our hearts to meet the Christ Child. After all, He’s the Head of our eternal family. One way to better prepare is to embrace your earthly family right here, right now. Don’t let any cross words or uncaring emotions be directed their way. Resolve to put aside any past grievances or grudges you might be carrying. See your loved ones as godly gifts given to you by the Baby Jesus. In Christian humility, live and breathe that truth and your Baptism into Christ will bathe you in both joy of heart and peace of soul. You are in Christ’s family, never to be without siblings, and you will once again be united with your loved ones in heaven. Merry Christmas, Mother…..
Thomas H. Fox is pastor of Pinewood Lutheran Church in Burlington, Massachusetts.