Well, howdy! Macaulay Culkin has declared that
Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. I used to
like Macaulay Culkin. I'm sorry, clearly Die
Hard, Bruce Willis, fighting off all of the bad
guys is a Christmas movie. It takes place at
a Christmas party. There is reconciliation with
an estranged spouse, and there's even a man crawling
through the air conditioning ductwork, which
is kind of like going down a chimney if you squint
your eyes enough. You could also make a case
for Gremlins being a Christmas movie because
it starts with a Christmas gift that goes terribly
wrong, there are a bunch of tiny creatures running
around, and everyone cares a lot about midnight,
but I don't think I'm going to worry about that
one so much. But there is one movie that almost
everyone agrees is a part of Christmas now whether
people like it or not love actually It shows
up every year like a relative who lets themselves
in without knocking some people adore it Some
people tolerate it Some people suddenly remember
they need to cover their kids eyes when certain
scenes come on and I don't mean when mr. Bean
shows up And yet it sticks with us every year
now. Not because it gives us one perfect definition
of love, but because it gives us a collage. Love
as grand gestures with music and learning languages.
Love as romantic longing between new acquaintances.
Love as heartbreak in and out of relationships.
Love as awkward friendship between teammates.
Love as cardboard signs and background music.
And that actually is the point of the movie.
The movie insists that love is everywhere, in
all kinds of forms, sometimes noble, sometimes
messy, sometimes deeply confusing. But that is
exactly where the problem begins. Because if
love can mean anything, it eventually means nothing,
other than the momentary feelings that we may
have. If love is only intensity, chemistry, or
how strongly we feel in the moment, then love
can be fragile, temporary, disposable, easy to
abandon when it starts costing more than we expected.
So Advent presses the question back on us. Not
how do we feel about love, but how does God define
love? And God does not answer with a singular
definition, but rather, he answers with a story,
or I should say, multiple stories. Sit here for
a moment and let the tension build while we hear
about Joseph and Mary. Joseph is engaged to Mary,
which in his culture actually does already carry
legal and social weight. It's not a casual arrangement.
This is a future that has already begun just
waiting for consummation. And then everything
collapses. Because Mary is pregnant. Joseph knows
one thing for sure. The child is not his. But
let's just sit with this for a moment. This is
not a sitcom mistake that can be cleared up with
a quick conversation and a commercial break.
It's not even Alan Rickman giving Emma Thompson
a Joni Mitchell CD and revealing a cheating heart.
This is life altering, reputation ending, community
shattering. Matthew tells us that Joseph is righteous
though, which we often hear as following the
rules, moral precision, doing everything correctly.
But look at what righteousness looks like here.
Joseph is planning to divorce Mary quietly. Instead
of making a spectacle of her in order to exonerate
himself that he is not a part of this, he's trying
to be merciful. That means that he's going to
absorb some of the shame instead of spreading
it. He chooses mercy rather than public scrutiny
that could bring about her death. He loves Mary
enough not to ruin her. even while his own heart
must be breaking. The coming of the Messiah could
have ended before it had even begun. But you
see, this is love without applause. No speeches
of righteousness, no vindication of choices,
no montage of goodness. But then, what does God
do? He complicates things further. The angel
appears and Joseph is asked to do something even
harder. not just to spare Mary, but to stay,
to take her to be his wife, to claim her publicly,
even being pregnant, to raise a child that will
never biologically be his, to accept a story
that sounds unbelievable to everyone else. Joseph's
love becomes obedience that costs him the story
he had always wanted. Hope for Joseph is now
in a future that he cannot understand. Peace
is here not in the absence of chaos, but the
decision to trust God inside it. Joy for Mary
is by not being abandoned in her most vulnerable
moment. Joseph does not get a glowing halo at
that moment to show he made the right choice.
He gets a dream, a command, and a lifetime of
awkward conversations. Love, according to God,
often looks quieter than we expect. This is love
that carries hope because Joseph believes God
is at work beyond what he can see. It carries
peace not because things are calm, but because
he entrusts himself to God's promise. It carries
joy, quiet and stubborn, rooted in faithfulness
rather than circumstance. And it teaches us That
love sometimes looks like staying put when the
world says, exit while you can. But then we turn
from the living room of Nazareth to the throne
room of Judah. The tone shifts. The same love,
but a different posture. You know those moments
when someone has made it clear that they are
going to do exactly what they want and no one
can change their mind? It's been said of me a
time or two. When they walk away from the people
and places that are loving and safe, while then
pursuing those who would make life worse. Isaiah
stands before King Ahaz, and Ahaz is afraid.
Not of Isaiah, though. The kingdom is under threat.
Enemies are gathering, alliances are being negotiated,
plans are being made, and Ahaz wants control,
not trust in God. See, at this point the king
of Judah, Ahaz, was considering entering an alliance
with Assyria to protect Judah against northern
Israel, used to be their friends, and Syria.
The two kings you dread. Isaiah urged Ahaz not
to enter the alliance, though, with Assyria.
To strengthen the force of his advice, Yahweh
threw Isaiah offered Ahaz a sign that Isaiah's
advice was sound, but Ahaz refused. He said,
I will not put the Lord to the test, but Isaiah
persisted in giving a sign. You see, God tells
Ahaz to ask for a sign. Please, ask for anything,
depth or height. God is willing to meet him there,
but Ahaz refuses. I will not put the Lord to
the test. It sounds spiritual. It sounds mature.
It sounds humble. So many times people can say
things to appear like they are doing such good
things. But Isaiah hears it for what it is. This
is not humility. This is avoidance, dressed up
as piety. This is not Liam Neeson convincing
his son to play the best drum solo ever to win
the girl of his dreams while his own heart is
still aching. This is Isaiah with his heart in
pain, wishing the king would listen for his own
sake and for the sake of the kingdom. You see,
King Ahaz wants to make his own choices without
trusting in God or frankly anyone besides himself.
Ignoring Isaiah's advice, Ahaz would become a
slave to Assyria and almost lose the kingdom.
But here is where love surprises us again, because
Isaiah does not back off. He does not say, well,
suit yourself. He presses in. He speaks anyway.
He announces the sign, whether Ahaz wants it
or not. All that King Ahaz would need to do is
wait just a little longer, and Israel and Syria
would no longer be a threat. For behold, the
young woman will be with child, and you will
call his name Emmanuel. You see, if we would
see that the young woman would have his son Hezekiah,
and wait until he was just three years old, finished
with weaning, He would see that his land was
now a place of peace again, where people were
eating curds and honey. But instead, Ahaz would
choose to offer his loyalty to Assyria, and in
so doing Assyria would take a toll on Judah,
though it would be Hezekiah who would keep Assyria
from exiling the nation. This is love that risks
being unwanted. Isaiah loves Judah enough to
tell the truth that they do not want to hear.
He loves the future enough to confront the present.
He loves God enough to say what God has actually
said and not just what the king would prefer
to hear. Hope is offered even when it is not
received. Peace here is not reassurance of your
choices but alignment with God. Joy is delayed
and it will come with the next king, Hezekiah,
not immediately. Sometimes love looks like refusing
to pretend that everything is fine. Sometimes
love says, this path that you're on leads somewhere
dangerous. That kind of love does not trend well
on Insta where everyone is always perfect. It
does not photograph nicely. or make a great AI
-generated image as the Green Ranger fighting
Godzilla, but it is still love. Isaiah's love
carries hope, because it refuses to believe fear
has the final word. It carries peace, not by
avoiding conflict, but by anchoring Judah in
God's presence. It carries joy because God is
still active and present, even when the kings
are faithless. And it shows us that love does
not always feel kind or popular in the moment,
but it is faithful to what leads to life. Isaiah's
sign does not end with a Hasda. It stretches
forward across the centuries. The virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel. See, in Matthew that ancient promise
takes on flesh and breath, not just a young woman.
A virgin. Love does not remain an idea that we
think about for a few minutes during Charlie
Brown. Love does not stay at a safe distance
to keep from offending or causing discomfort.
Love enters into the world and makes itself felt
and known. Scripture says something bolder than
love actually ever could. Not just that love
shows up in unexpected places, but that God shows
up. in the middle of ordinary, complicated lives,
not polished ones. A carpenter with a reputation
to protect, a young woman with the dangerous
secrets, a child born into political tension
and family vulnerability. But God does not fix
the world from afar. He moves into it. And once
you see that, you start seeing echoes in the
lives of his people. Love that keeps showing
up to care for a parent whose memory is fading.
Love that forgives when the ball is dropped or
the apology is not really there. Love that stays
in a calling after losing close friends in safe
spaces. Love that speaks truth and still stays
at the table to pick up the pieces. Love that
has everything taken away. but still is willing
to speak kindly and give everything. God's love
does not echo with Hollywood sentimentality.
These are not dramatic movie moments. They do
not come with soundtracks. They do not get cardboard
signs. But they are holy. Hope that God has not
abandoned us. Peace that God is present, not
absent. Joy that God delights in dwelling with
his people. love that does not wait for perfection
before arriving. See, God's love is not cinematic,
but it is real. As real as stopping your disciples
from defending you, knowing how many would end
up dying for you if you let them do so, knowing
the accusations against you are only half -truths
that miss out on showing who you really are and
what you're really doing. Letting the punishment
take you not just to the brink, but to the end.
And while you know resurrection is coming, it
does not stop the pain and nothingness of death
beforehand. Love does not fix everything immediately.
It enters everything faithfully. This love carries
hope because God refuses to abandon a broken
world. It carries peace because God is present
even when outcomes are uncertain. It carries
joy because salvation begins quietly, not with
spectacle. And it defines love as presence, faithfulness,
self -giving. You see, Advent is almost over.
Christmas Eve is close enough to see on the calendar.
Soon we will gather again, hear familiar words,
and sing songs we know by heart or thought we
knew by heart until we hear someone else singing
the right lyrics. But before we do, Advent asks
us to notice something. Love does not always
look the way we expect. It stays when leaving
is easy or even logical. It speaks when silence
feels safer or kinder. It shows up in ordinary
places with extraordinary faithfulness. Soon,
we will hear again that the light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
But it's not just poetry. It's a description
of love. Not love as the world markets it actually.
Not love as a feeling that fades, but love actually
as God gives it. And that is the love that comes
to us, that stays with us. and that calls us
to live by the faith that we have received. Thanks
be to God.