Christmas makes no sense without Advent

Advent? Isn't that just a fancy way of saying "the Christmas season"? The time when Christmas songs get sung at church and we begin all of our holiday preparations?

It is at least those things, but the Advent season is more than that. It is a season of longing and waiting.

It's a time to reflect upon the longing and waiting of Old Testament saints. Our brothers and sisters longed to see how God would unfold his plans for Israel and deliver his people from oppression and suffering. There was a desire for justice and for the hope of the prophets to be culminated and displayed.

Christ had not yet been revealed. Can you imagine the cloudiness of the hope of Israel before Jesus came? Would God send a prophet? A messenger? Some of the scriptures seemed to say God Himself would come, but surely that was not meant to be literal? (Of course, we now know that it was literal!)

But we should not stop there. Advent is a time to stop and think about how broken our world still is despite all that Jesus has begun to set forth in his death and resurrection and the birth of the church. It is a time to think about how broken we still are, because his work in us is not yet complete.

In other words, this is also a season to reflect on how we also are longing and waiting for Jesus to return.

Stop for a moment. Remember that death has been defeated, but it is still coming. Remember that the war has been won, but the battle still rages. If you have not given much thought to your sinfulness, be aware of it. Allow yourself to long. Allow yourself to wait. Most of all, let us approach Advent with deep, resonant hope.

The gift of our Savior's birth is only worth it if you realize what we have been saved from, and the deliverance we are still waiting on.

Come, Lord Jesus! May God bless you this Advent season.

- Pastor Mike