Longing Worth Walking Towards

Scripture — Luke 2:1-15 (NRSV)

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes. This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone went to their town to be registered. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David. He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us.”

Devotion

Some longing requires us to be still, as the Psalmist said in Psalm 46:10. The unrealized kingdom sends a hint of what is to come, and then we are restless like many kids are the night before Christmas as they anticipate – virtually these days – wrapping paper for a new gift. The Habukkukian visions of an unrealized kingdom linger; coming soon, but not yet. The patient longing for Job’s “why” questions—asked of a kingdom. Some longing does require sitting.

But love softens hearts and compels people to take proper action. There is a song we sing in the African American tradition that speaks to the tension between waiting and walking:

I am weak, and I need Thy strength and power
To help me over my weakest hour;
Let me through the darkness Thy face to see,
Lead me, O Lord, lead me.
Lead me, guide me along the way;
For if You lead me, I cannot stray;
Lord, let me walk each day with Thee.
Lead me, O Lord, lead me.

Doris Akers’ words here are sung with a resilience that presses against the longing, reminding us that someone is guiding us. The Fall impresses a longing for independent sovereignty into our lives that falls flat, and then failure mocks us in our weakness. But the Kingdom comes with a lowly King who stoops to our weakness and speaks to the poor and tells them, “You are blessed” (Matthew 5:5). He comes to varying forms of weakness—social, political, ethnic, and racial—and in this text, he comes to the occupational week.

Sometimes we long so deeply that we forget how long it has been since we last truly longed for something. We have grown accustomed to darkness for so long that we have forgotten what light looks like. The shepherds, on a silent night, found it to be a holy night. An angel told the shepherds that a better shepherd had come to lay his life down as the perfect lamb. The anointed one had come to lead captives to freedom (Isaiah 61:1-2). And the angelic host brightened the night with adoration and singing. They were shepherds, but they were longing also. It is a humbling moment that should remind them they were also sheep.

God grants peace to those who serve him and long for it (Psalm 37:27). And is that not what we want? A realized kingdom, where there is no more weeping or hay fever. Where there is consummated wholeness. Where things are in glorious fullness. The promises that are worth longing for are coming; and God provided pledges guaranteeing the promise. For the shepherds, it was a baby (common), wrapped in clothes (common), and lying in a feeding trough (uncommon). Now it is up to them to decide whether to pursue the longing.

And now, as disciples with varying degrees of responsibility and influence, we are given glimpses of a promise of a new heaven and a new earth—pledges of baptism, the table, and the gathering of saints. We find ourselves in our longing, wrapped in God’s love, seated in Christ; gospel treasure uncommonly lies in broken vessels, angels singing glory over one sinner who comes to repentance. The Spirit is leading and guiding along the way. We are longing, but we are also given pledges that tell us to seek the kingdom. And we are left to decide whether we are going to say the same thing as the shepherds: Let us go over to the new kingdom and see this thing that has taken place.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Peace on Earth!.