On November 30, 2008 it will arrive – ADVENT.  It is our time of anticipation. There will be some disconnect between our Christmas world and the world of the passages we read from Scripture.

             I’m assuming none of you will escape the holiday cheer, even if you wanted and I don’t know why you would want to. It will be everywhere, illuminating every corner with multi-colored, blinking lights. It will be on radio. It will be in stores – that jolly old Santa with his contagious smile. It will be in our homes – trees, lights, presents, wreaths.  But the world of our Advent Scriptures may be quite different. There will be some dismal stuff when compared to our everyday lives of Christmas cheer. Isaiah talks about life in the desert wilderness. John the Baptist talks about people being chopped down like trees with an ax.

             The reason for the stark difference: Advent is a season of longing, of expectation. Every year the stories from Scripture help us relearn, to remember, how much we need Jesus. More than that: we take time to feel in our bones the desperate longing of the world for the arrival of Jesus – the Savior, the Redeemer, the Liberator, the Prince of Peace. We take time to begin to long again for peace, the Prince of Peace.

            So what happens when Jesus gets here?  Psalm 72 tells us, “May all the kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life.”

              What happens when Jesus gets here? When Jesus gets here, people get together and start joining his kingdom work. They do the stuff he does. And the Psalmist tells us what that stuff looks like. And if people can’t see why Jesus makes a difference, it’s our fault. It’s our fault because we haven’t shown what the presence of Jesus looks like. We haven’t given anyone reason to believe. We haven’t given anyone something to join, a movement of hope and peace. That’s our commission. To show Advent wasn’t for nothing. We are called to show what it means to believe that Jesus has finally arrived.  Jesus is here in our midst. He’s looking for followers, people who will join him in his mission.

 See You at the Celebration!