I grew up in a traditional church where the Advent wreath was beautifully placed in the corner, the hymns of longing were sung in minor keys, and the candles were lit one by one each week.
In the last two years, my love for Advent has grown; I now look forward to Advent more than Christmas. (Weird, I know. But please hang with me here.) This year I even made an Advent wreath. I wanted to fully experience the season, and I've been avoiding Christmas music as much as possible.
I don't want to rush into the joy of Christmas. I want to be allowed, even invited, to embrace the darkness, unrest, and longing of Advent.
Advent means coming or arrival. Advent is about the coming of Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah.
It's the season of waiting.
In Advent, we are invited to join the Israelites in their exile, crying out for God to deliver them and expecting God to be faithful to his promises.
In Advent, we are reminded that the world isn't as it should be. Although the Messiah came and overcame death, we are waiting for his return.
In Advent, we are invited to hear the words of Jesus in Revelation 22:20:
The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”And join John in his response:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!In Advent, we are invited to focus on our longing for the return of Jesus. We are invited to dedicate the season to craving the resurrection, the new heavens, and the new earth.
So we Advent. Not just to get lost in tradition. Not just to balance out the extreme joy and happiness of the season. Not to embrace the darkness of the season without purpose.
But because if we don't Advent, we miss out on so much.
We miss out on looking at the history of Israel and their painful wait for the Messiah to save and redeem them.
We miss out on seeing the fullness of God's faithfulness through the first coming of Jesus.
We miss out on the invitation to live daily looking forward to his return in glory.
If we jump into Christmas, we dwell on Jesus as a baby. If we Advent, we remember that the story isn't finished yet.
We long for the end of the story.
We hope for the second coming of Jesus the Messiah.
Our hope is not a wishy-washy thing. Our hope is a confident expectation in the second coming of Jesus. Just as God was faithful in the first advent of Jesus, he will be faithful in the second advent of Jesus.
We light the first candle clinging to hope.
We look at God's faithfulness to his people Israel. We are reminded that we have reason to place our faith and trust in him.
We light the second candle in faith.
As Advent continues, we cling to joy and peace/patience. (But we still haven't lit those candles in our house yet, so we will save that for later...)
Advent invites us into a place of deeper longer for Jesus.
In a broken world, it's nice to be invited into that place of longing. It's freeing to be expected to lament with Israel in the Old Testament as they waited for the Messiah. It's freeing to be invited to continue to wait for the Messiah to return.
To sing with the Church at large "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus":
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
Happy Advent.
No comments:
Post a Comment