Advent Begins

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this ( Isaiah 9:6-7).

A Meditation on Hope for the Advent Season

My childhood was filled with sleepless Christmas eves. I would always pretend to fall asleep listening to the Nutcracker and when it was over I would lie awake in silence waiting, listening for the pitter-patter of reindeer hooves, hoping to hear the sound of a jolly old man laughing.

After I had woken everybody up (usually around 5 am) and my dad had his cup of coffee we could finally open up those sugar plumbs and presents that had been dancing in my head all night long. Only one more thing was in order before we could open them.

Every year before opening presents, my mother would read to us from the Bible. Usually she would read something from one of the gospel accounts about the birth Jesus. But sometimes she would select an Old Testament passage like the one above. She would take the time to remind us that these were prophesies about the Messiah, that the Messiah’s coming was the great hope of the Jewish people. Then we would pray.

And then we could finally open our presents. But with each year it became more and more apparent to me that the action that preceded the opening of the gifts was far more important than the actual exchanging of the gifts. And the child that mother’s selected scripture readings always pointed to was most important of all.

I was a teenager when I fell in love with the candlelight service on Christmas Eve. At the height of the Advent season we would gather to sing songs, read scripture, dim the lights and light candles. We would remember the prophets of the Old Testament who had prophesied that one would come who would establish God’s peace, bind up broken hearts and bring justice and mercy to all of the families of the earth. We would contemplate the anticipation of Mary and Joseph as they traveled and looked for a place to lay their heads and bring into the world the baby that the angel had told them about. And children would recite the words of the angel to the shepherds in their fields.

Advent is about waiting. It is about anticipation. And it is about hope. As we wait like children on Christmas Eve for our Lord to come again, the liturgical year continually reminds us of God’s faithfulness in generations past. And while we gather during Advent to sing songs, read scripture, and light candles we remember not only that Jesus came into the world once upon a midnight clear, but we anticipate Christ’s renewed presence with us this Advent season and each day. And we rejoice that the hope of the prophets, Mary and the shepherds has come. Jesus is the light and hope of the world. In him God has revealed his plan to establish and uphold justice and righteousness. Come Lord Jesus.

Shalom,
Wayne