Portraits of the Immeasurable Gift

“Think of what lies behind the gift.” My mother smiled as she spoke the words. She always did. I first heard them the day before my fourth Christmas. Presents had appeared in four separate piles under our Christmas tree. Beginning a habit I’ve never entirely broken, I fiddled with everything in my pile trying to guess the contents. When I finally developed the practice my mother encouraged, I realized she wanted to increase my pleasure. With the gift finally open in front of me I would sense a grandmother’s warmth, an aunt’s interest in my latest curiosities, a sibling’s sly delight at my surprise.

Isaiah offers a sweeping view of the gift we receive at the birth of a son. The prophet carefully develops the scene. To the people of his day, steeped in darkness and sorrow, he announces the coming of light and joy. He points to the birth of a child. With soaring phrases he proclaims this child will embody the life-nurturing names of the Messiah. Then, at the climax of his prophetic portrait, Isaiah focuses on what lies behind it all: “The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this.” Zeal is one of those thickly layered, rich, hard-to-capture biblical words. In Isaiah’s prophecy, it conveys single-minded, absolute devotion. What lies behind the gift of this child? What lies behind the gift is God’s relentless yearning. Behind is God’s stop-at-nothing desire to draw all to the saving ways of righteousness and peace.

As we hover on the edge of Jesus’ birth, may we look deeply enough to see the holy steadfastness that brings it to pass. In these next hours, behind any special worship service that moves us, any silence that nourishes us, any gathering that brings us joy, may we see God tirelessly reaching for us all.