Advent

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, a season which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of His return. Advent celebrates the truth that God has revealed himself to us in Christ so that all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the fulfilment of which we anticipate.

In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolises the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as we affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He’ll come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live "between the times" and are called to be walk in a manner worthy of being called God's children.

Across these weeks of Advent we will be spending time in Isaiah so that our hearts may, as the Christmas Carol puts it, "Prepare Him Room".  For Advent is not a frantic countdown to the stuffed stomachs and broken toys of Christmas. Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter; it's a time of both patient waiting and discontented longing that fuels our hope in the coming Kingdom of God. Amidst this season where our time feels so scarce, dashing from party to party and present shopping, Advent teaches us to watch, to wait, and to hope for the appearance of the one who makes all things new.

In "Preparing Him room" we join with Israel awaiting the deliverance from their sins, release from their exile, and the return of their King. We join with Israel’s prophets that proclaim this good news, and in doing so, we come to see that the story of Israel’s exile from God is part of the story of the world’s alienation from God.

This is how one writer puts it:

“During Advent each year, the Christian year teaches us to once again become Israel, recognizing our sin and need, that waiting, longing, hoping, calling, praying for the coming of the Messiah, the advent of justice, and the in-breaking of shalom. We go through the ritual of desiring the kingdom – a kind of holy impatience – by re-enacting Israel’s longing for the coming of the King. We are called to be a people of expectancy – looking for the coming (again) of the Messiah.” – James K.A. Smith

Advent then is meant to reset our priorities and passions to things eternal… it is meant to lift our eyes to Jesus and to the new heavens and new earth to come… and then when we come to Christmas – it is not just a baby’s birth we celebrate in some sort of sentimental isolation – but rather - we see Jesus’ coming as a deposit – a glimpse – a promise – the beginnings of all that we’ve dared to hope for in Advent.

As we journey through some classic Isaiah passages this Advent series we will be, once again, pointed to the birth of our Savior—and for the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope for the light to shine in the darkness. We hunger for the justice and restoration that is foretold by the prophets. We long for all the blessings God promised, both through Jesus’ birth, and Christ’s return.