Larger Than Life

Larger than life! I've heard and used that exclamation countless times. It's generally used to describe people who defy normalcy in ways commoners such as myself go about living. Larger than life can apply to the famous and infamous alike, but most often for those who are deeply admired for feats and attainments they've managed. The great explorers, the business tycoons and engineers of the American 19th century. Athletes who seem to go beyond what is humanly possible. Military leaders, presidents, kings, and queens. The list could go on. But when "Larger than life" applies only to those who are widely known for grand exploits, it falls short. 

Several thousand years ago there lived a man who dwelled in the desert, ate locusts, and never touched alcohol. Odd, to say the least. Yet his life was prophesized. He dared to speak out against the corruption of the religious leaders and the Roman installed ruler, Herod. The man's name was John, known to us as John the Baptist. He preached repentance saying the Kingdom of God was at hand. If anyone was larger than life, it was possibly him. Many came to him to be baptized. He was called a prophet. 

John could have claimed the title and yet, he eschewed it. He said there was one coming whose sandals he was unworthy to tie. One who would not baptize with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire. His cousin by birth. A humble carpenter who came out of a small Galilean backwater town. The world knows him as the man Jesus, who may or may not have actually existed. But if he did, much of what the bible records may not be true. Maybe he was a wise teacher at best. Yet Christians claim him as the Son of God and Man. The long-awaited Messiah. 

His life was one of poverty, homeless and nomadic in order to preach the good news of God's favor throughout Israel. He declared God's mercy and his boundless love for humanity. He said follow me and simple, common people did. He said come to me and I will give you rest for your souls, for my burden is easy, unlike those of the religious and political leaders. He carried the good news of reconciliation between God and people for three years, never making money or gaining power from it. In the end, he was murdered through public execution for crimes he did not commit. Those who ordered it thought that was the end of him and his message. We know the rest of the story, yet it continues to unfold with each birth and death. 

It's Advent, the yearly wait for the birth of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Not in glory, but in a rude stable. From a humble beginning came One who owns the title Larger than Life. Let's wait humbly and hopeful for his coming. For he will come again. We celebrate his first entry into the world as an infant, but he will come this time in all the glory the universe can hold. Amen. Come Lord Jesus.