Not counting the closing benediction,
the Bible ends with these words found in Revelation 22:20, "The
one, (Jesus) who testifies to these things says, 'Surely
I am coming soon.' Then John writes, "Let it be so.
Come, Lord Jesus!" Like many Christians, particularly
those experiencing hard times, John of Patmos longed for the
rapid return of Jesus which would mean a new age of peace and
wellness. "The hope for deliverance lies not in us, but
always with Christ. He is our security, our final and true dependability." (Synthesis,
Nov. 27, 2005)
While many, if not most of us, would like to see some major
improvements in the world we are not all that ready to have it
end because life for the most part is good—even very
good. We are also not very good at waiting since we are able
to get much of what we desire rather quickly. Because of this
the seasons of Advent and Christmas often fail to be the spiritual
experiences they are intended to be.
"There is a story told by Eberhard Busch about his friend
Karl Barth, the great German theologian. As a little boy Barth
spent an entire Sunday looking out the window for Jesus to come
to the family home in Bern, Germany. He never came. When Barth
shared this years later with Busch, Busch asked him, 'Were
you disappointed?' 'Oh, no,' Barth replied, 'the
waiting was wonderful.'" (Carlos Witton
Lectionary Preaching Workbook, p.13)
The waiting was wonderful. Many of us do not do well with waiting.
Often we just keep ourselves so busy that we do not really have
time to be thinking about waiting. As a little boy, Karl Barth
imagined how wonderful it would be when Jesus came so the anticipation
during the waiting was wonderful as well.
I wonder if this isn't part of the reason Jesus said we
have to become like little children to enter the Kingdom of God
(Mark 10:15). What would it involve for those of us who are adults
to become as excited about the second coming of Jesus as our
children become excited about the coming of Santa Claus?
Isn't it true that instead of Advent being a season of
preparation and watchfulness getting us ready to receive a gift
from God, it often becomes a frantic period as we attempt to
get everything done? The end result often is we end up exhausted,
irritated and often in debt more than necessary. How might this
change if we saw the season for what it is meant to be—a
time of preparation to welcome God into our lives. Recently,
I led a class on spiritual disciplines. One of the disciplines
we studied is hospitality. The idea is to create space and time
that allows another to come close to us so that we can offer
them the best of ourselves. This is what God does for us and
it is what we need to do for God—offer God space and
time in our lives.
"Cardinal Cushing often told a story about a little girl
who sat on her grandmother's lap to listen to the story
of creation from the Book of Genesis. As the magnificent text
was recounted the grandmother noticed how quiet the child became.
So she asked her, 'Well, what do you think of it, Dear?' The
little girl answered, 'Oh, I love it. You never know what
God is going to do next!'
The little girl did not know what God would do next but she
knew what God had already done. Because it was so wonderful for
her she assumed God's future activities on her behalf would
also be wonderful." (Synthesis, Nov. 27,
2005) Isn't
that a great way to think about Christ's coming again?
For those who love God it will be something wonderful that God
does for us. Why would we not want it to happen and why would
we not look forward to it with great excitement, anticipation
and preparation? Yogi Berra, the legendary catcher and coach
of the New York Yankees, once said, "Sometimes you can
observe a lot by watching!" (Wilton, p. 13)
Advent is a season for many things including watching and waiting.
It is difficult to do this properly if you are always occupied
with a myriad of activities. I think this is part of the reason
Mary, Joseph and the shepherds were chosen to first receive the
Good News about the birth of Jesus. They had sufficient quiet
space in their lives to be able to hear and see what God was
doing. Advent is meant to be a time for us to see what God is
going to do next.
We need for God to act and we need to be prepared to see what
God is doing. In Isaiah 64 the prophet is asking God to act on
behalf of God's people who have fallen into sin in what
seems to be God's absence from them. It feels like God
is angry and has hidden from those who live in iniquity. Isaiah
says to God that no one calls for God to come and no one attempts
to take hold of God. Isaiah reminds God we humans are just clay,
but God is the potter who must shape us. Advent is a season for
us to be shaped by the love of God which means we have to be
in God's presence. We have to be seeking God wanting to
hold onto and be held by the One who is the source of all goodness
and life.
I came across this story recently that describes all of this
for me:
A little girl was busily wrapping a Christmas
present. Eventually her father noticed she was using several
layers of paper and he scolded her slightly saying it wasn't
necessary to waste so much paper on one gift.
Christmas morning came and toward the end of the presents
being unwrapped the little girl placed the package in her father's
lap. He recognized the paper and remembered the wrapping incident.
He removed layer after layer until he came to a box which he
opened.
"There's nothing in it," he exclaimed, but
before he could utter another word the little girl said, "Daddy,
it is full of kisses which I blew into the box for you. I wrapped
them many times so none of them would escape."
For years the Father kept the box opening it every now
and then when he really needed a kiss" ("Tear
Open the Heavens," Roy T. Lloyd, Dec. 1, 2002,
Day 1 Website)
It seems to me that God intends to give us so very much but
we have to take the time to see and appreciate the gift for what
it is—God coming into our midst, being with us and still
coming again in what will no doubt be a very grand entrance. |
