Advent comes.
The beginning of the church year arrives again after a long year of political unrest, religious division, and global violence.
Advent comes, bringing an enduring message of hope that can be difficult to hear above the noise and distraction of our world.
Advent comes with an invitation to prepare, to reflect, to repent and reconcile; to await the coming of God with pregnant hope.
Advent comes, bringing the challenging figures of John, and Mary, and Joseph--men and women who waited and prepared for God in their own difficult times.
Advent comes, inviting us to reflect on time itself ---not the world’s time with its buzzers and alarms; with its critical calendar notifications and frantic deadlines, but to reflect on Kairos, God’s time; the cosmic time that has no beginning and no end; the time that often explodes, expands, or folds in on itself; the time that reorients us to eternity.
Advent comes, and if we are honest, this invitation to dwell in God’s time and prepare for God’s coming is not always easy or comfortable or even very welcome. It is hard to wait, hard to be patient, hard to gaze into the future when the waiting will be fulfilled. It is all too easy to wait without hope, without gratitude, without purpose or understanding. We wonder, "How do I prepare? Why should I wait? What does it mean? Will I even recognize Him when he comes?"
If we are struggling with loss or grief; if people we love are suffering with medical, financial, or emotional crises; if families are ruptured and relationships bruised, then this season of waiting and preparation can take on a heaviness--a loneliness that seems overwhelming. It can feel as if we, alone, are walking in darkness while the rest of the world sings carols.
But despite our questions and in the midst of our fears, Advent comes. If we have the patience to simply dwell awhile in this waiting time; if we remember that God surprisingly and unexpectedly came to live among us as a peasant child, born to a young girl in a forgotten corner of the world, we may find the courage to open ourselves to the unexpected surprises God has in store for us.
Advent comes. And with it comes the reminder that God arrives and continues to arrive each and every day, throughout every season, despite our pain, beyond our doubts. God arrived for us in the moment of creation. God appeared in the miracle of Passover. God became incarnate in the remote village of Bethlehem. He walked on the Emmaus Road and ignited the fire of Pentecost. He is poured out on the altar of sacrifice and blessing whenever we celebrate the Eucharist. God arrives and continues to arrive through the hands and feet and hearts of each one of us who follow Him, no matter how haltingly we walk. God arrives every day in our midst, even when we cannot see Him through our tears.
If you are hurting this Advent season and God seems far away, remember that one of His names is Emmanuel, God with us. Emmanuel, the God who arrives, is with us, especially in those moments when he seems most hidden.
Emmanuel, God is with us.
May we welcome His coming into the tired and lonely places of our world with courage. May we welcome Him into the ruptured and broken places of our lives with love. May we help His light shine, even in the darkest spaces. May we prepare for His coming with joy!
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