Come all ye Faithful

"'Return to me,' declares the Lord Almighty..." Zechariah 1:3

"I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me, for I have redeemed you." Isaiah 44:22

"Therefore thus says the Lord: 'If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me.'" Jeremiah 15:19

Thousands of years ago, the people of Israel were in exile. They were taken from the promised land and forced to live "cut off" from the temple and, in extension, God. Most believed that their Lord had either been defeated with them or had abandoned them completely. Most everyone had thrown in the towel, given up. Yet, prophet after prophet called on these people to return. Return from their exile and return to their God.

Some eventually started to go back. Ezra and Nehemiah returned and started to rebuild their lost city of Jerusalem. Long forgotten heirs of the kingdom arrived with the rest of the prisoners. Priests went back to the temple. People had come back and yet, God still called on them to return. "Return to me."

A few hundred years later, there was another migration. Not as large as the return from exile, but it rivals in importance. In the city of David, shepherds and magi travelled to find the baby who was to be the Messiah. Both the highly and the lowly would pay homage to this greater King.

Two thousand years later, God still calls us to return. We've been living in our own exile for awhile now. Maybe stores have opened up, but many haven't returned to church. Many of us are still out there, living cut off from our church community and the comfort it bring. Or maybe some of us are feeling like God has abandoned us or that He isn't even there...

"Return to me," God says. "Come back."

Through these stories, God wasn't just calling on His people to physically return to their homeland or even to seek the coming King. Returning to God means turning back to Him after a life of sin, after a life in spiritual exile. We were so lost spiritually, that we could never find our way back on our own. We needed God to come to earth and lead us back to Himself. That is the joy and the triumph of Christmas. We are set free from our sin and bondage. We are forgiven and given new life. All because of God's love for us.

Come prophet. Come priest. Come shepherd. Come king. Come all ye faithful. Return to Christ this Christmas. Amen.