Advent Devotional - December 2, 2016

“Hark the herald angels sing / Glory to the newborn King! / Peace on earth and mercy mild / God and sinners reconciled”

-Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Each of us is familiar with catastrophe: the abrupt outbreak of calamity and heartbreak. The lesser-known opposite of catastrophe is eucatastrophe, a term coined by J.R.R. Tolkien, the famous author of The Lord of the Rings and other fantasy stories. In literature, eucatastrophe is the most happy plot twist–a sudden bursting of good fortune for the main character, especially in a moment when all seems lost. In the story of mankind, our eucatastrophe occurs at the birth of Christ. The joy of this blissful reversal of man’s fate came spilling over Heaven’s edge as the herald angels exulted, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Luke 2:14 tells us the angels exact words, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.” The message of these heralds is peace: “God and sinners reconciled!” Romans 5:10 says, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” What a plot twist! Reconciliation has not come to us through our good merit, our worthiness, or our e ort. Reconciliation is brought about by a God who loves eucatastrophies; when the chance of deliverance by our own means was exactly zero, a child was born.