MOVEMENT ONE : PINING FOR HIS PRESENCE

Silence. 

Whenever there is Silence we usually have the tendency to read into it. Why is it there? What does it mean. In the silence that was created between the last words of Malachi to the first words of Matthew, the hearts of the world looked into the space created by God’s silence. Absence may cause the heart to grow fonder, yet the silence of God’s word from the world created a chasm so deep that souls longed for an echo of it to know their worth. 

We have lost the use of the word “pining” from our everyday vernacular. The definition is to languish, to yearn intensely and persistently especially for something unattainable. 

In this silence the world pined for the presence of God. 

As Matthew opens we see a world in need. A soul emaciated, clinging to the hope that the words of the prophets will be true, that the Messiah will come. 

Yet as so often happens, God breaks the silence in a way that we do not expect. 

Where as some would see a political king taking the stage to deliver a powerful movement of freedom from tyrannical oppression, God sent a humble melody. A power ballad from a political king may offer physical peace but it would only create a clanging noise in the emaciated soul that would not be able to be sung by others in the world. This humble melody would be far more than what our mere expectations could create, even when they are fueled by oppression, we still could not fathom the depths of melodic work of God that will be sung for all eternity. 

The prophets spoke of how the Messiah would come from a royal line, He would bring about the Shalom Peace, where everything would return and restored to as it should be. 

Oppressed by Rome and in political turmoil, the people of God thought they would recognize the song sung by this Messiah.

Yet although the line may be royal, it does not mean that it will be loud or prestigious. 

The song of the line of Christ was royal, yet it was filled with people that were broken. Originating in Abraham the song would span the centuries, twisting and turning, sometimes barren at other times fruitful. The song would bring in the voices of a harlot named Rahab and foreigner named Ruth. It would feature talented musicians, with tainted lives such as David. From the outside we would think it highly unlikely that this particular group of individuals would be used to sing the song that crescendos in the coming of the Messiah. 

So now, in the silence. May we quiet ourselves from distraction. May we hear the words of the Father speaking into the silence, calling to us, “Child of mine, open your heart to hear the song I am singing for you. You can not sing ahead, you cannot predict my melodies. But if you are willing, you will hear and see far more than you could ever ask or imagine.”