Dear Fellow Alumni,
A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS TO YOU!
Christ, the Light of the world, has come to bring us joy, faith, peace and hope!
Isaac Watts a 17th century British hymn writer tweaked Psalm 98 into a Christmas carol when he wrote the all- time favourite, Joy to the World!
Yes, joy has come into our world since that first Christmas when the word became flesh and dwelled amongst us. (John 1:14). Many of us, down through the ages, “have beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).
On that first Christmas, angels sang “Gloria in excelsis Deo” to humble and ordinary shepherds. Their “Alleluyas” rang through the entire heavens, while the shepherds trembled with great fear and wonder!
Since then, our message to the broken world is that Jesus has come to break the curse of sin:
No more let sin and sorrow grow;
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow;
Far as the curse is found (3x)
Jesus’s first coming some 2000 years ago was to break the power of sin, death and the devil’s oppressive rule. Jesus himself declared to the religious leaders and the people gathered in the synagogue, the purpose of his coming:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
Yes, at his first coming, Jesus came to die for the sins of the whole world. He came to heal the broken-hearted, to set the captives free, and offer peace and good-will to all who will come and seek his pardon and forgiveness.
That is why Christmas is always a time of hope because Christ has come to reconcile alienated men and women, boys and girls to their Creator God! “Peace on earth, good will toward all men!”?
As we sing Joy to the World, let’s remember that it is not about the first coming of Christ! It is the anticipation of his return the second time, when he will come as the Judge of the entire universe, and rule with equity and justice:?
He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove; the glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love. (3x)?
Until then, all creation groans… we who know Christ, groan in the spirit, for the completion and fulfillment of God’s salvation (Romans 8:22-25), when Jesus will come as the King of kings and the Lord of lords to reign in the new heavens and the new earth!?
Amen! Come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you [and I] through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
Yours faithfully,