Did you know that one of the Christmas songs we will no doubt sing this season has a link to Paisley?
In recent years we have at Christmas time sung the song Adore which was written by Martin Chalk and Graham Kendrick. Martin, who now lives in South Carolina, grew up in Paisley where his father, Robert Chalk, was Pastor of Mossvale Community Church. It’s a great song; the tune is memorable, the words profound, and a congregation can sing it!
Adore, come let us adore, O come let us adore Him! The Lord, worship Christ the Lord
Adore?
As we head into Advent 2024, I have been thinking about what it means to adore Christ the Lord.
For sure, singing is part of our adoration of Christ, after all, adoration is a synonym for worship. But it is not the whole story.
To speak of adoration is to express a deep love. However, as we know, love is not just a feeling or a sentiment but love results in action. Love is expressed, made visible, by doing.
Our adoration, our love of Jesus, looks like something. As Jesus himself said (John 14:15),
“If you love me, keep my commands.”
Visible
I can only keep the commandments of Jesus because I am loved by God. Advent reminds us that we love because God first loved us. God’s love for humankind and the world which he spoke into being, was made visible, resulted in action, in the birth of Jesus.
Sunday
This Sunday we will not think about the birth of Jesus itself, but along with advent, and adoration, another word beginning with ‘A’; annunciation.
Luke 1:26 – 38 is the account of Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary that she will be the mother of God incarnate. This is why the early church gave her the title Theotokos: the one who gave birth to God.
Focus
As I’ve been reading Luke 1: 26 – 38 I’ve been trying to do so with fresh eyes. As I’ve done this I’ve become aware that my focus has not been where Luke’s focus is.
My focus has been on Mary. Perhaps because my evangelical upbringing has conditioned me to seek a practical application from the passage, i.e. what are the implications for me from this passage?
Approaching the text with this question means I’m drawn to Mary’s final words; “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” From this, the obvious application is that I should respond like Mary, “Here am I, Lord, let it be with me according to your word.”
Luke’s Focus
While Mary and her obedience is, of course, important, I want to suggest that Luke’s focus, his central message, lies in verses 31 – 33.
31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
The focus is Jesus, and how he continues and brings to perfection God’s ongoing work of salvation of His creation.
It is him we are to adore, and therefore our attention needs to be on him.
Looking forward to being with you on Sunday.
Brodie