Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A Christmas Mosaic


I was thinking recently about the meaning of the word Mosaic; the blending together of things that are very different to make something that is very beautiful.  One of our Converge MidAtlantic churches is named Mosaic Church.  It’s a blending together of people from very different cultures and traditions, coming together under the banner of Jesus to form something beautiful for His glory!

When I think of the word Mosaic, I also think of the coming together of things that are broken, and these broken pieces being shaped and formed into something that is beautiful.  I think about broken and bruised lives that are blended together in a spiritual community to become something very beautiful for God!

Christmas, for me, is a lot like this kind of Mosaic.  It celebrates the coming together of things that are broken to form something that is amazingly beautiful.

When I think of the Apostle John’s words in chapter 1, when he says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, I think about the miracle of God becoming man. Theologians call it the Incarnation!  I think about the power of the creator of the universe entering into our broken and fallen world.  I think of the amazingly good news of a God who would care enough about our plight that He would literally become one of us. I’m reminded of the words of the writer to the Hebrews when he said: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).

That’s what Christmas ultimately means to me.  It means God entering into my humanity.  It means God identifying with my weaknesses.  It means God coming and taking my brokenness, and through His brokenness, making something incredibly beautiful. It means my broken down story being wrapped up in His loving story of redemption and grace, and as a result He writes a new story.  That’s why I feel this amazing sense of HOPE, of JOY, of PEACE during this season.  I’m reminded again of the great STORY of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A storycomes out of the middle ages and the construction of some of the great cathedrals in western Europe. One of the cathedrals was nearly complete, only needing the beautiful stained glass windows to complete the magnificent structure.  The best artisans of the day were summoned to complete the task.  As the dedication of the edifice approached, the town’s leaders were gravely concerned that the largest and most prominent of the windows was still incomplete. The artisans reassured these worried leaders that all would be complete in time for the great dedication of the cathedral.

On the day of the dedication, the leaders of the city gathered early in the morning for one final inspection of the most prominent stained glass window.  As they looked upward, the reflection of the sun’s light shined through this most prominent window in a manner that was more glorious than they had ever seen. The hues of the color palette were magnificent beyond description.  They were literally awestruck at the beauty of this just completed stained glass window.

In awe and amazement, they inquired of the master artisan about how this window had become the glorious feature that it was?  They inquired too about why the work had been done so late in the game. How could all this be?  The reply was simple yet profound.  They shared with the town’s leaders that they had taken the broken and left over pieces from the other windows and had used them to craft this one remaining, most prominent window.

Yes, Christmas reminds me and it helps me to celebrate the powerful and loving work that God did and continues to do in taking my brokenness, my pain, my weaknesses, and through the Person of Jesus our Savior, makes something quite beautiful, for His glory and praise.

To the entire Converge MidAtlantic family, Sandi and I want to convey our deep gratitude for the privilege of serving Jesus with you.  And we want to offer you our prayers and hopes that YOUR Christmas will also be one of Joy, and Hope, and Peace because of Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Lovingly in Christ,

Dan and Sandi Peterson
Converge MidAtlantic

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