A Message from Pastor Chris
Advent is a time of waiting. Waiting for Christ to come…..first as the baby Jesus….now as the returning King….but what is our focus? On the wait? Or on the coming?
For the longest time I figured Advent meant “to wait.” Waiting for Christmas to happen, waiting (as a kid) for Santa Claus, waiting for the Christmas tree to go up, waiting for all those presents I hoped to get (and hoping I wasn’t too greedy). Was this the true meaning of Advent?
The dictionary defines advent as the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event
The root of the word Advent isn’t “to wait,” it’s “to come.” And doesn’t that make more sense, not just from a logistics standpoint but from a spiritual one? Advent is the celebration of the coming of Christ. Whether you open windows on an Advent calendar or light candles every evening or look at the Christmas decorations going up around town—unspeakably early it seems to me—you’re celebrating the upcoming arrival of a huge holiday.
Tis the season, indeed, to be jolly. Why? Because we’re looking at not just one coming, one that’s already happened, but another that we wait for with great anticipation and joy, the Second Coming.
God stepped down and came to the earth in the form of Jesus, the very Son of God, born to a humble couple from Nazareth, in even humbler circumstances—as the gospel writer Luke showed us—in a stable with a manger for a bed.
We don’t have to wonder if it’s going to happen because we know it happened already from the accounts we’ve read. And we know that Christ’s return and the coming of the kingdom of God is certain, because God always lives up to His promises. You can bet the house on that! The very certainty is a gift of hope to us.
“O come, o come, Emmanuel,” we sing at Advent, all our yearning for that good news. And because Christ did come, our yearning is not empty or vain.
This is the true meaning of Advent. Christ came…..and is coming again. And every decorative reminder out there can speak to our hearts, giving cause for hope and joy.
Merry Christmas! It is good to be your pastor!
In The Lord’s service till the last fish is caught, <><
Pastor Chris
