Advent
is all about the wait—we have considered together various themes; in our own
celebration they have been “hope, peace, joy, love.” We rehearse and remember all the ways in
which Jesus’s birth was predicted and prophesied. We think about all the expectations (some
correct, others not) that were associated in people’s minds with the coming of
the Messiah. And we try to remind
ourselves of all the importance that is attached to Jesus’s being born as both
fully man and fully God—the biblical truths that he embodies.
All of
this has been preparation during our waiting for Christmas. Tonight marks the end of our waiting. Advent officially ends this evening, and we
mark that end by lighting the center candle in our wreaths, the Christ
Candle. It reminds us that in the coming
of Jesus to that manger in Bethlehem, the waiting of generations for the
Messiah to come has come to an end.
Tomorrow is no longer Advent, the season of waiting, but Christmas the
Day of Welcome. “Coming” becomes
“came.” Advent yields to arrival.
Waiting
is only worthwhile if we know what we are waiting for, and if what we are
waiting for is worth it. I enjoy
celebrating Advent, but it would be pretty pointless if there wasn’t a
Christmas to follow, wouldn’t it?
We
celebrate the Advent season because we want to drink deep of all the truth and
hope we find in Jesus Christ. The
anticipation is made powerful for us because we know that Jesus came. Unlike all those characters of the various
Bible stories leading up to Christmas but who didn’t see its fulfillment, we
know what they and we were waiting for. Every
year, we proceed through Advent, and get to move on to celebrate Christmas. Advent becomes our time to get our thinking
straight on what Christmas should mean.
But as
I was thinking about all the blessings we will celebrate tomorrow because
Christmas has come, something in my mind said “not so fast.” The coming of Jesus, so long anticipated,
took place. Jesus came, lived, died, and
rose again. He accomplished our
redemption. He paid the price for our
sin. He conquered death.
However,
that was not the end of the story. He
said we was going to His Father, but he would come back. He ascended, and when he did, angels told his
followers he would return in the same way he went away. And in Titus 2:11-13, we are told that, once
again, God’s people (us) are waiting. We
are looking for Jesus to come—for his second Advent to draw near. So, as one Advent now comes and goes, another
continues…
If we
really grasp the meaning of Christmas, then we understand that the story of
Christmas, of Good Friday, and even of Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost is
all a part of a larger “Advent season” a greater season of waiting and
anticipation. Our celebrations tomorrow
can and should be joyful, but they are only a small taste of what that final “welcoming”
will mean when our waiting is all done.
When you are with loved ones tomorrow, or open that especially
meaningful gift, or experience some moment of sheer bliss, thank God for it,
and realize that it is just a taste, a tiny hint of what will one day be yours
in never ending supply when Jesus comes back for his own, as he promised.
Welcome
Christmas Day! But as you welcome it once again, don’t forget what, or Who, you
are really waiting for!
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