Photo by Corinna Lichtenberg from Pixabay

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said celebrating Advent means being able to wait (“Advent feiern heißt warten können”) and that important things are worth waiting for. A pastor from my youth suggested that it should be a time of preparation, leading to a changed life that would only be evident in retrospect. He suggested that the proper response to the question “Did you have a good Christmas?” would be: “Ask me a year from now,” when it will be possible to look back more objectively. Indeed, Ted Olsen observed: “Like the Lenten season before Easter, Advent was once a [time of] solemn preparation…” (https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/happy-advent.html)

How much waiting, preparation, and time can be involved in God’s timetable? I was reminded recently that Isaiah, who foretold the coming of Jesus, preceded him by 800 years. (To put that in perspective, consider that the Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving “just” 400 years ago.) And now it has been 2000 years since Jesus walked the earth. 

So, let’s make the most of the next few weeks. 

 

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel;
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.