“And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:5 NIV
The Lord’s Glory
Carolyn Young’s book on Canada’s first Parliament Buildings is called The Glory of Canada. The Centre Block of Canada’s first parliament buildings was destroyed by fire in 1916. This account of the architectural competition and construction of the buildings makes clear that the conflagration was both a historical and an artistic tragedy. The Centre, East, and West Blocks were built between 1859 and 1865 to house parliament and the departmental offices of government in the new capital of the Province of Canada. The Centre Block was the glory of the collection.
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I love that the first arrival of Jesus was filled with bright light. His birth was marked with angels from the realms of Glory, and Bethlehem stars, and all the other glorious things we sing about at this time of the year. We put a star up at the top of the tree and cover it with lights, because we recognize that Christmas is all about light. It is quite likely that Jesus wasn’t born at this time of the year, but it’s appropriate that we celebrate the Light of the world arriving in the darkest time of the year, at least in our part of the world. Listen to what the prophet wrote in Isaiah 40:5: “’And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’” They certainly did see His Glory on the night He was born, and Peter, James, and John would experience it on the Mount of Transfiguration. Don’t miss it as you celebrate it this year. The glory of the Lord is revealed in the coming of Jesus – do you see it?
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley