Yesterday we began the Season of Advent (my favorite Church Season). Romans 8:25 sums it up nicely. But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Advent means “coming” — the coming of the promised Messiah, and His coming again. Thus, the Season of Advent is all about anticipatory waiting. That’s theological jargon for “There’s a great gift coming if we’ll just be patient.”
Unfortunately, we have a hard time waiting for anything. Politicians who don’t deliver what they promise, we boot them out of office. Coaches who fail to produce winning teams ASAP, we send them packing (Farewell NY Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh). Couples wanting the benefits of marriage prior to marriage, well…
It is not wrong or sinful to desire things. The problem is that we want them now. We have a hard time waiting for anything. Why, even Christmas is celebrated way before the actual twelve-day Season begins, starting with the Day of His Nativity. The blurring of the two seasons and our failure to wait for Christmas to actually come before celebrating it, robs us of the true meaning, value, and richness of the Gift when it finally arrives.
In a culture that puts a premium on the here-and-now, Advent trumpets the still-to-come.
What I like about Advent is that it reminds me to be patient, regardless the circumstance or whatever season of life I may be in. Advent says, “Wait for a greater gift to come and trust that the Giver will deliver it at the right time.”
Advent – there is a gift of a Child whose long-awaited coming finally arrived, and whose coming again is promised. The gift is yet to be revealed in its fullness – at which time there will be no more tears, no more sadness, no more pain – but its arrival is guaranteed, and its enjoyment will be eternal.
For now, it’s a matter of waiting, patiently waiting. I know it will take a lifetime for me to learn the lesson, and I’ll need to be reminded again and again: Be patient. The promised gift will come.
Blessed Advent to you all!
Pastor Greg Schram
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Amen!
Being patient in the little and not so little things – a lesson I am still learning