Maranatha

I learned a new word at church on Sunday, which was particularly exciting because its definition has been -- and will continue to be -- my life's mantra. The word, Maranatha, is a Greek word meaning "O Lord, come." I don't know if I can even delineate or separate the number of times I utter those words on a daily basis. I think it's just become a general pleading of my heart that plays on a constant loop from day to day..."Come, Lord. Save us from ourselves. End our suffering. Return, Jesus. Come now, this day, this minute." Perhaps like many of you, I am acutely aware of and tuned into the extensive and never-ending pain and suffering that exists in this broken, sinful, not-what-it-was-intended-to-be world. For a small percentage of us, life is disproportionately easy and peaceful and joyful. For the vast majority, however, life is filled with hardship and fear and sorrow. It might be a 13-year-old girl in India who is raped multiple times each day because she's been sold by her family to a brothel or it might be the 40-year-old man sleeping in a sleeping bag under the Burnside bridge that I passed earlier this evening. I ache thinking about these people, and if I ache, I can only imagine how much their Creator aches and wants so desperately for them to feel whole and safe and cherished. Maranatha indeed.

Which is why Christmas is just so awesome: Christ came. It's so easy for Christmas to become routine because it's this major holiday that we celebrate every year and it's become so tragically secularized, but the reality is -- whether you acknowledge it or not -- December 25th is celebrated because God answered humanity's cry to enter into creation and save us from ourselves. And He did it in the most humble of ways, which is even more fabulous for those of us who are suckers for underdog stories. And upon His death, resurrection, and ascension some 30 years later, He promised that He would come again. Given the precedent He set with His first carnal entry, can you imagine what the sequel will be like? I love thinking about it because it fills me with such hope and confidence and relief. The world's suffering will end. It will end. Anyway, I could go on but I won't because it's getting late and there are still a few Christmas Eve-y things to do. Just wanted to share these few time-sensitive thoughts with you.

Merry, Merry Christmas and Maranatha...