Author: Beth Whitney - Assistant to Lead Pastor
This Thanksgiving, our middle daughter was able to come home from college for a visit. We were so excited. But we didn’t just sit and wait for her to come. We didn’t spend hours gazing out the window, watching for her (But we did ask for regular updates!). We put clean sheets on her bed, vacuumed her room, and bought her favorite foods. We prepared for her to come, with hopeful anticipation.
As we look forward to and prepare for the advent season, we wait. But there’s tension in the waiting. We don’t wait as those who looked for the first coming of the Messiah. No, we are caught between the Messiah has come and the Messiah will come.
“Advent reminds us that, in our own brokenness, and in the broken world we live in, we have hope.”
But why aren’t we satisfied that He came? Why are we still looking for him to come again?
Maybe it’s this: In his first coming, Jesus, our Messiah, defeated sin and death. But we still suffer in our broken world. Look around, it only takes a moment to see brokenness. Broken hearts, broken minds, broken bodies.
If we allow ourselves, the brokenness becomes our sole focus. We become depressed, or we try to fix it, or maybe we just throw up our hands in defeat. But - advent.
Advent interrupts our daily rhythms -- forces us to pause and refocus. There are so many ways to be distracted this month - yes, by brokenness, but also by busy-ness. Advent is a simple way to keep the main thing the main thing in the middle of everything. It reminds us that, in our own brokenness, and in the broken world we live in - we have hope!
Let me say that a different way: We have the only. true. hope!
Emmanuel - God with us - has come! Advent isn’t an impatient waiting, but a waiting where we can prepare our own hearts. And in that reminder of hope for us comes the anticipation of hope for others. Let’s spend this season focused on the hope that is only found in Jesus. Let’s spread that hope to others! What would your December look like if you were firmly rooted in the hope of Jesus - looking back at his birth, and looking forward to his coming again?
