The Fourth Sunday of Advent
He Is Coming
We will start this fourth post of the Advent series by thinking about a song. It is Mercy Me's version of "Little Drummer Boy." This is such a fun song – upbeat, with a catchy rhythm. When you listen to this particular version, though, the song builds until 1 minute:45 seconds when the climax of the song hits. As you keep listening, the resolution hits at 2 minutes:09 seconds. I love the stories you can find in music. Not only do the words build a picture, but the music itself accompanies the words and captures your heart if you allow it. As I sit and listen to this version of "Little Drummer Boy," I always catch my breath when the music crescendos and Mercy Me begins to sing, "Shall I play for you…." Then they resolve the story by singing, “I played my best for Christ.” Take a moment, now, and please listen to Mercy Me’s rendition.
A Song – Little Drummer Boy
The music starts slowly with the Little Drummer Boy invited to see the newborn King. Each brings their finest gifts to lay before Him. What do you bring to the King of the universe? Little baby or no – what do you bring that is fit for a King? As the music builds, the Little Drummer Boy asks to play his drum – his only talent. He offers all he has, all he is, “Shall I play for you?” He asks permission to give back to the King who had gifted him with his talent in the first place. The little boy does not play hesitantly, cautiously. The song says, “I played my drum for Him. I played my best for Christ.” The boy gave the King his very best, as little as it might seem; the boy gave the King his all.
In this season, we give gifts, honoring the ultimate Gift, Jesus Christ. Yet, how often do we stop to ponder what we give Christ the King? This King who was once a babe in a manger but who was also with God in the beginning, who was God (John 1) and is King of all, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22). What can we possibly give Him? To borrow from yet another song:
“What can I give him?
Poor as I am
If I were a shepherd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what can I give him
Give him my heart…." (In the Bleak Midwinter) (Lyrics)
Give him your heart. Give him not only the best of yourself but your whole heart, soul, mind, and body. Christ asks for nothing more and nothing less than you to give all of yourself to Him. And as the Little Drummer Boy tells us, “ ‘Then He smiled at me…’”. Give yourself to God and let Him smile on you too.
Christ is coming. Are you ready to give your gift to the King?
A Reading – Revelation 22
A Prayer –
In this season of expectation
We prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah
Into the bustle of our lives
and the hard to find moments of solitude
We prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah
Into our homes and situations
along with friends and families
We prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah
Into our hearts, and those often hidden parts of our lives
We prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah
For beneath the surface of your story
is an inescapable fact
You entered this world
as vulnerable as any one of us
in order to nail that vulnerability to the cross.
Our fears, our insecurities and our sins
all that can separate us from God
exchanged by your Grace for Love.
We cannot comprehend the reasoning
only marvel that Salvation comes to us
through a baby born in a stable,
and reaches out to a world in need.
In this season of anticipation
We prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, Messiah.
