How Christmas Beats Coronavirus - Wonderful

Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:5‭-‬7 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.9.5-7.NIVUK

I feel privileged in my life to have seen some pretty wonderful sights: stunning sunrises and sunsets, amazing geological formations in Capadoccia and El Nido and Bohol, beautiful tropical beaches, gorgeous mountains in Europe. These are all sights that inspire awe, and quite rightly. They point us to a marvellous creator, so marvelling is perfectly okay. The problem is that we live in a culture that loves to rob us of our sixth sense. No, not our ability to see the future or to read minds. I mean our sense of wonder. Christmas is an amazing example of that. How many of you remember the excitement when you were small and you saw the presents under the Christmas tree, then you got to unwrap yours? How many of us as parents remember the excitement when we saw our younger children feel the same excitement? But now either we or they are all grown up, is the wonder still there? Probably not. In the same way our culture has tried to take away all the wonder out of life. Now, I don't think it's wrong to look for an explanation for what happens in the world around us. But if we remove all the wonder from the little miracles of life, like a sunset, a mountain view, the creation of life, or even love, then life becomes incredibly dry. It's no wonder there is so much depression around. We need to remember that when Jesus came into the world, His Name was Wonder-full: He was full or wonders! He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). He healed the sick (Matthew 4:23). He cast out demons (Mark 5:1-17). He even raised the dead (Luke 7:12-15). In fact, Christmas is not one miracle, but a whole string of them. There is the Immaculate Conception itself (Luke 1:26-38). Numerous angelic apparitions to Elizabeth, Zechariah, Joseph and the shepherds. There is a star, moved across the sky to lead the wise men to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-11). And there is also a warning in a dream of imminent danger (Matthew 2:12-15). There are many who don't believe any of these. Who look for explanations and then, when they can't rationalise them, dismiss the whole thing off as a religious fairy tale. "It's a nice story for Nativity plays, but nothing else." they say. But they forget one key fact: Jesus is Wonderful. He is Divine. He is God. If you don't believe in God, nothing like this is possible. Everything must have a rational explanation. Everything is boring and dry and robbed of all its beauty. Nothing is wonderful. But if you believe in God, and that Jesus is God, then He is wonderful, and everything is possible. Maybe you feel like you need a bit of that wonder right now. The Israelites in Isaiah's day would agree with you. Threatened with the greatest superpower of the day smashing over their borders and taking them into exile because of their sin, they longed for and needed a miracle.

And God would give them it. Just not the wonder they were expecting. Maybe the wonder, the miracle you need right now is Jesus: the One who loves you as you are, cares for you and came to earth to save you. Maybe that wonder will be enough to turn things around for you. Christmas this year might be a little low budget. There might be people missing round the table. Our gatherings might be smaller, our food cheaper, our presents less showy. But there can still be wonder. Do not reduce your expectations. Just don't find the wonder in the presents, the food or the people. Find it in Jesus. Because His Name is Wonderful. The second Name of Jesus we will now go on to examine is COUNSELLOR.