The Future Promise of Christmas
Scripture Reading — Luke 2:36-38
[Anna] gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Sometimes just after the Christmas holiday, I feel a bit of a letdown. For weeks I’ve built up excitement for the coming holiday and have looked forward to celebrating. But now, even if there’s still a family gathering or two to attend, the big event is in the past. And I know that in a few days we’ll start to take down decorations and clear away all the traces of our celebrations.
But Christmas has a future dimension as well. It’s not just in the past. Jesus has come, and his first coming is not the only thing that brings us hope.
In the temple, Jesus’ parents met Anna. She had dedicated her life to worship and to looking for signs of God’s salvation. Now, as an elderly woman, she recognized the fulfillment of her prayers in Jesus’ birth. And there’s more: Anna encouraged the people around her to see in Jesus the redemption promised to God’s people.
Of course, the infant Jesus had not yet completed the work of redemption, and Anna would not likely live to see Christ’s finished work. But her hope reminds us that Christmas is about more than the present times we live in. Jesus has come, and his birth points to the redemption of God’s people. What’s more, through his death and resurrection he has completed the work of salvation for us. And in some ways like Anna, we wait in hope today for his coming again (Revelation 21-22). The best is yet to come!
Lord, may the gift of your birth give us hope for the future as we await your coming again. Amen.
About the author — Joel Vande Werken
Joel Vande Werken is the director of ecclesiastical governance for the Christian Reformed Church in North America in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He served for over seventeen years as a church pastor in Sussex, New Jersey, and in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, before moving to Michigan in 2024. He and his wife, Brandie, have five children.
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