Warning: Overtly spiritual message follows. I have felt a burden to share it, so here goes.
I want to say the next sentence with as much empathy and care as I can:
This has been a great year.
Yes, I’ve had loved ones touched by the plague. Yes, I have mourned people who have passed away. Yes, my income took a hit. Yes, I bemoaned some of my favorite local businesses calling it quits. Yes, there is much uncertainty.
But through it all, the Hope of Christ sustained me:
It has been a yearlong season of remembering what is most important. (Hint: It’s not money.)
Of unexpectedly being able to invest in my family. (I haven’t been home, including overnight, this much in years!)
Of worshiping as God provided “daily bread” every day. (Just when one client had to take a break, another one stepped in to take its place.)
This year I got to reprioritize, to spend time with family and to worship as we all await whatever comes after this pause.
Clients, in similar pauses and pain, had the chance to do the same.
It occurred to me that this whole year has been an Advent of sorts.
one of Hip Socket’s Christmas gift booklets. I love a good sign.
And now here we are, ready to observe actual Advent starting Sunday. Let me explain:
Waiting to Be Saved
Imagine what it was like before Jesus came to earth. God promised to send Messiah, “the Anointed One,” to save his people. They needed it: Enemy armies, civil wars, sickness, moral decay, personal grief and vices, death … there were many things people were sick of and ready to be rescued from.
When would the Messiah “happen?” How?
Prophets and kings were anointed with oil to announce their offices and consecrate them for service. Perhaps each time an anointing happened, some wondered, “Is this Messiah? The Anointed One?”
So imagine what it was like. In the face of so many hardships, you trusted God to keep his promise. You longed for Messiah to come save you.
When? How?
After generations of waiting, on a night when the Jews were traveling to be counted in a census by their latest conquerers, the Romans, Messiah came–in a most unexpected way.
Christians are waiting for Messiah to come, too. He promised he would return to take us home with him to Paradise. We long for Jesus to come back.
Advent
Ancient Christians have observed the Advent season since at least the 600s. Advent comes from the Latin word for “coming.” During Advent, we remember the miracle of Jesus coming to earth as a man … and we prepare our hearts for him coming back.
Ancient Christians fasted during Advent. Eventually, it became tradition to light a candle every Sunday as you waited for Christ’s coming at Christmas.
For the next four Sundays, I’ll share a short passage that I hope helps you prepare your heart for the coming of Christmas and the coming of Christ.
Prepare Your Heart
This is overtly religious, and I know this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s the core motivation of my coaching work, and I’d like to share it with you.
“Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,” the Christmas carols commands.
Advent is a chance to do just that.
See you Sunday. Have a blessed Advent.
This is the first in a series. Click here for the next, FIRST SUNDAY: The Candle of Expectation.