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
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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