Have you ever loved too much? Been way too trusting?

I have. I have totally misread the signs, been far too eager, and well you know…

As we end our Advent journey, we’re going to look at a love that proclaims to be so extravagant it can’t be outdone or overblown. It’s a love that promises not to leave you looking like a loser or feeling like a fool if you respond. But can this love stand up to the hype? That’s our quest this week to find out.

ANCIENT ORIENTATION: After centuries of predictions, and mounting anticipation Jesus comes bursting onto the scene.

An invasion of light has come.

Not with the explosion of bombs or the sparks of sniper fire. But light streaming beyond time. More powerful than daybreak. More reflective than moonlight. More ancient than a big bang.

Light wrapped in skin. Jewish skin. Familiar and fragile skin.

Jesus light of the world. Born to His people. Born for all people. To reveal. To illuminate. To show-forth. God.

Jesus comes as the ultimate Rabbi teaching and doing the heart of God.

John, one of Jesus’ closest followers and dearest friends, describes Jesus as the light of the world. But John says that what Jesus brings to the world is grace and truth (John 1:14,17). In Hebrew it’s chesed v’emet. These two qualities are believed to capture the knowable aspects of God.

Chesed is one of the most stunning words in Scripture; it connotes the idea of serving another person with a love that is honest and loyal, that is liberated from obligation but is as steadfast as a covenant. It is so hearty, so free of self-promotion it may even be perceived as a foolish love.

Emet is truthfulness. It’s a straight-shooting honesty. Justice. It’s a real reality.

In Jesus’ day there were rabbis, Jewish teachers, who believed that if you came near to God, you would inevitably bump up against chesed v’emet. In the book of Exodus, God describes Himself to Moses as “abounding with chesed v’emet”. And if you did acts of chesed v’emet you would be emulating God.

There were three main acts that were so generous and unselfish that they were regarded as chesed. And these acts were to be done in a way where the person couldn’t be thanked or repaid for the goodness.

1. Serve a bridegroom on his wedding day
2. Serve the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the poor.
3. Show love and kindness to a family mourning the death of a loved one, especially at burial.

When John goes on to tell of Jesus’ life, he begins with Jesus serving a bridge groom at a wedding in Cana. Jesus turns water into the finest wine and does it in a way that He can’t be thanked.

Then Jesus heals the sick and feeds the hungry.

John ends his account of Jesus’ ministry with Jesus caring for a family in mourning and then raising Lazarus from the dead.

Chesed v’emet. This is what Jesus was bringing to the world. He was bringing God closer to His Creation than He had ever been.

But Jesus does the ultimate act of chesed v’emet – one the rabbis had not considered and one the rabbis could never do. Jesus dies on the cross. He negates Himself for the sake of another — for the sake of His family, His neighbors, His enemies, for your sake and mine.

Jesus, light of the world, illuminates God by showing us chesed v’emet.

SACRED READING: Here’s how John describes Jesus’ coming in John 1:1-18, The New Living Bible.

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. 6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. 15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’” 16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

THIS WEEK’S PROVISIONS FOR YOUR ADVENT JOURNEY

REFLECTION: A few years ago I got chessed tattooed on my back. I was on the brink of falling in love, and was about to move to Jerusalem for a year of study. I had recently begun a tradition of noting life-maker events with tattoos, and chessed seemed to perfectly capture the joie de vivre of the moment.

I met up with my boyfriend in Paris en route to Jerusalem, only to discover that his feelings had changed. A month after arriving in Jerusalem the Twin Towers collapsed in New York and a spate of suicide bombings exploded in my new neighborhood. And there I was lumbering around with chessed scrawled on my back.

Extravagant love, huh? True truth, really?

That December I found out my x-boyfriend was now engaged, the pastor of my church back home was in the throes of an affair, a family member was entrenched in an addiction, and my school was closing down due to political unrest.

I chose to stay in Jerusalem, move into a Palestinian neighborhood, take Hebrew classes and volunteer with Gypsy kids.

For the first couple of months I had few words of my own for God. So, I decided to steal words from the Psalms. David would have to do my praying for me. As I read the Psalms and tromped through the spaces David once did, something in me began to shore up. As I visited archaeological tells and saw the backdrop of Scripture hope started to stir. But when I talked with people who were working for peace, and saw people who took seriously Jesus’ words of loving your neighbors…and your enemies something even more profound happened.

I craved to see faith have skin. I needed to find love alive in the most deadly spaces. And, I did.

I experienced a deep grace while sipping tea and savoring conversations with the Syrian muktar, my German professor of Christian Communities, two Orthodox Jew bookstore owners, Bedouin girls, my Palestinian neighbors and my Narkis Street church community. And as I would watch the sunrise over the Mount of Olives, run through the Kidron Valley, kneel and pray in incense-infused caves in the Holy Sepulchre, and write articles about my adventures I came more and more alive.

That year, perhaps more than ever, I felt Jesus pursue me in ways very specific to my soul. And in the midst of it the reality of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection seemed to seep more into me. Though I had misread the signs with my boyfriend, and perhaps had been too eager to love, I discovered I couldn’t out love or out trust the One whose moniker was marked on my back.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU: What guards might need to come crashing down for you to believe that Jesus’ love is that extravagant and His truth that true? Are the guards related to disappointments with your family? Your work? Your romantic relationships? Seeing injustice in the world? How might Jesus’ chesed v’emet come bursting through your personal darkness?

As I shared I sensed Jesus’ pursuit in ways connected to my passions (conversations/travel/nature/adventures/writing). How have you felt/seen God pursuing you in ways specific to your own soul? What passions might you pursue in 2010 that may also be spiritually meaningful?

IMAGE OF GOD: As you reflect on this year, how have you experienced Jesus as chesed v’emet?

INVITE OTHERS INTO IT: As you spend time this week reflecting on your year, I encourage you to share your reflections with a dear friend. Perhaps you can meet for coffee or a meal to discuss this.

RESOURCES: The Attentive Life: Discerning God’s Presence in All Things by Leighton Ford. This gorgeous book is an invitation to pay attention to God’s pursuit. I highly recommend it.

Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem – While I feel a little cheeky recommending my own book, in it I share one of the most profound journey’s I’ve ever taken. The trek through the Balkans and the Middle East was an extraordinary gift, one where I certainly experienced Jesus’ chesed v’emet through other people. Yet, afterwards I encountered the darkest season in my life. The writing of it felt like it brought me back to life again. It serves as an epilogue to my experiences in Jerusalem.

Well, dear friends, thank you so much for trekking through Advent with me. It has been a gift to journey toward Christmas together. I pray you experience Jesus’ extravagant love and sturdy reality in new and deeper ways this holiday and that 2010 is a Year of Joy for you.

Con amore,
Tamara