Hope

(I shared this devotional at an Advent breakfast last year. I've had a few requests for copies of it, so here it is.)

We know the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? Romans 8:22-24

I am completely aware that each month of November, I turn into a bit of a Grinch. I’m the one who tries to stop Christmas from coming. I know I rolled my eyes when the florist up the street had its Christmas Open House the first weekend in November. I’m sure I sighed when the lights went up on Main Street before the Veteran’s Day Banners came down. I groaned every time I heard Winter Wonderland on the radio – and it was 70 degrees outside. And I forced a grin when the cashier said, “Merry Christmas” the day after Thanksgiving. It’s not that I don’t enjoy Christmas; I do! It’s just that, most years, for me, Christmas comes too soon.

Now the first Christmas, that’s a different story. The Jewish people had been waiting for Messiah since... well, since Adam and Eve took a bite of the fruit. For thousands of years, they had been crying out for God’s salvation. And during that time, life had been hard - they had been enslaved, lost in the desert, attacked, divided, taken into captivity, invaded and conquered... Some probably thought that God had given up on them, forgotten them. Others still had faith that God would rescue them, but wondered why He was taking so long. And maybe some stopped believing all together, the waiting causing them to decide that there was no God that was merciful and just and mighty to save. But then, it happened.

In Galatians, Paul puts it this way:

In the fullness of time, God sent his Son, born of a woman.

“In the fullness of time...” I love that imagery. The cup of time was full. Not one more drop could fit in. It was ready to overflow – or burst. And then, only then, is Jesus born. Only then does the celebration start. Only then do the angels praise God with their “Glorias” and only then do the Magi pack up their gifts and begin their long journey. That’s part of what this time we call Advent is about. Recreating, re-enacting, and reliving that longing – that waiting – for the cup of time to be full.

But how do we do that? I mean, it’s December 2009 - Jesus has already been born and his birth celebrated year after year... How do you look forward with anticipation to something that has already happened? How do you long for something that has already taken place? “Who hopes for what he already has?”

This past Saturday, my daughter and I were driving home from the Appalachian Craft Fair. Snow was falling; we were laughing; Bing Crosby was on the radio, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...” I know why people want Christmas to come as soon as possible. It has a fairytale quality to it. Everything is twinkly and bright, maybe even snow-covered! There are presents and good food and family and friends. But even as we celebrate, creation is groaning “as in the pains of childbirth” and we too “groan inwardly.” The world can be a rough place. Everything is not as it should be. Life is still hard. Maybe many of us wonder why God is taking so long; has He forgotten us; was He ever really there?

So there’s another part, I think, to this time of Advent. It still relates to longing. It’s a longing for the world to be made right, for God’s Kingdom to come and His Will to be done, for there to be peace on earth and good will towards men. And it’s not so much about mangers and shepherds, but it’s still about Jesus coming to earth. We proclaim it every time we take communion together - we call it the Mystery of Faith - “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”

When I can hold these two aspects of advent together in my mind, I start to see and hear things in new ways. All of those Christmas carols take on extra meaning.

Joy to the World, the Lord is Come – Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven & nature sing!

No more groaning! Singing!

There is an extra layer of expectancy – more than, “I wonder what my husband bought me this year,” – but the realization that God’s acts are not limited to the past. “I wonder what God is going to do next to bring about His will? I wonder what He’s going to ask me to do? Ask us to do?”

And all the bells and whistles of Christmas – those things that annoyed me so much back in November – they fade into their rightful place. Because I didn’t really want to stop Christmas from coming, I just wanted to see it clearly.

So as we prepare to celebrate and remember the birth of Christ, may we also look forward with longing for the plans God has for us. As those who came before prayed for the Messiah to come, may we pray for Him to come again. As we wait for the fullness of time, may we not lose heart, but overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.