Why Wait?!
I was getting milk the other day at the grocery store, and I heard some of my favorite Christmas carols on the sound system. It really lifted my spirit!
Advent is the time of year when we are more likely than any other time to hear church songs in non-churchy places; to hear sacred songs in secular places; to hear songs about God in places that might not have much to do with our faith. Have you noticed where you hear Christmas songs throughout the week? On the radio? At the grocery store? On a TV commercial?
When Jesus came into the world as a baby, all of a sudden God was right here with us! God wasn’t just inside the Temple, or somewhere up in heaven; God had come to walk right alongside God’s people. Throughout this Advent season I invite you to notice where God shows up in unexpected places - maybe even through song! God is all around us, and we are invited to welcome and notice signs of God's presence.
Much of our society is leaning toward Jesus and the manger this month, whether they realize it or not. And it's not just Christmas music either. At this time of year people really do strive to be kinder, more patient, more generous. Traditionally Advent tells us to wait, but Mark’s gospel has no time for waiting. Everything happens "immediately," one of the most used words in Mark. So why should we wait? What would it look like to live Advent in the present tense? With the idea that the good news of Jesus is happening now? How can we invite others to experience the good news God is already bringing into the world and our lives?
The other reading for the first weekend of December is from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 64:1-9). Isaiah wishes God would just open the heavens and come down, Isaiah is speaking to God’s people who are alienated, confused and feeling abandoned. Isaiah cries out to God “Tear open the heavens and come.” What kinds of times and occasions make you wish that God would just show up, here and now? Times of happiness and joy? Times of heartbreak and injustice? What situations make you wish God would just open the heavens and come down?
Why wait? Come now, Lord Jesus. Help us see you in our lives now. Help us bring your good news to the many, including ourselves, who so need to experience it.
