Matthew 2:17-18
My Heart is Full
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Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
In Rama was there a voice heard
Lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
And would not be comforted
Because they are not.
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These days when we talk about "fulfillment" of scripture we usually mean prediction.
It’s as if we are looking for places where God says, “OK, pay attention, I’m gonna tell you what’s about to happen.”
Somehow it comforts us to think events are not random.
It’s all part of God’s plan.
But there is another way to use that word “fulfillment.”
To be fulfilled is to find meaning and purpose that did not exist before.
“I thought I knew about love before I had a baby, but now I feel so fulfilled.”
“I guess I could make more money elsewhere, but this kind of work is very fulfilling.”
“The smiles on the faces of children give my life fulfillment.”
No doubt about it. Some prophecies were predictions.
But more often, when the New Testament says, “fulfilled,” it means that life events gave new meaning to the written words.
In the life of Jesus, the dry old texts suddenly leap off the page and say something unexpected.
God certainly didn’t MEAN for Herod to slaughter the innocents.
But in God’s hands, the words of Jeremiah’s old lament took on new meaning.
Through the terrible pain, God gave powerful significance.
God’s words fulfilled those suffering a senseless crisis.
In our current crisis, people are looking for predictors.
It came from a lab! It came from a critter!
It was part of a cover-up! We shoulda seen it coming!
Somehow we feel that an answer would comfort us.
But in God’s hands, even this senseless crisis can be filled with meaning.
The baby Jesus was more powerful than a raging king.
You are more powerful than a raging disease.
You are here today that God’s words might be fulfilled in you,
and that your heart may be full.
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O God, in the beginning, you gave order and life where there was only chaos.
Come into my world of chaos, and give it all meaning.
Let me find new hope, new joy, and new peace.
Most of all, let me share your love through this.
Then I will be fulfilled.