In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you.
As you know, today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is a time of intentional . . . waiting, anticipating, yearning . . . for the next word, for a coming event, for an expected surprise.
Intentional waiting seems so strange. How many of us went to WalMart or Kmart or Target on Black Friday at 5 a.m. — not for the deals but for the quality time that we could spend in check-out lines sandwiched between tired toddlers with runny noses sitting on packed shopping carts begging for candy? Or how many of us listened to the traffic reports or used GPS over Thanksgiving so that we could choose the travel routes with guaranteed traffic delays? Or how many of us go to doctor’s offices an hour early, just so that we can spend more time in the rooms specifically reserved for waiting? We don’t do those things, at least if we’re sane. We don’t like to wait. Waiting is bad, to be avoided, we think. If given the choice, we will never choose to wait.
But that’s exactly why Advent is important. This is the time of year that the church sets aside to practice . . . waiting. Advent waiting is pregnant waiting. It takes humility. That’s because waiting acknowledges that our time, our calendars, our hopes, our lives are not ultimately in our control. We wait for Jesus, the one who has come for us, who dwells with us, who has promised to return to us.
Our Worship Commission has chosen as our Advent Theme, “Coming to Jesus”, and in these weeks we will explore Isaiah’s prophecy of a new king who claims many titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. In our wait, we learn to identify, to welcome, and to follow the One who comes to dwell with us. But, of course, the whole idea of waiting is to acknowledge that our celebration does not begin with our coming to Jesus. It begins with Jesus’ coming to us. Through God’s Spirit, may these weeks of Advent be a time when we come closer to the God who, in Jesus, has chosen to draw close to us . . . while we wait. Keep reading →