Advent is the coming of something or someone.
Biblically, advent refers to the coming of Christ. The coming of a messiah, a savior, a king, a judge, and a comforter, was promised hundreds, maybe thousands I don't recall, of years prior to Jesus' arrival. There was hope that the messiah would come, and there were promises of his arrival, but there was also a heck of a lot of waiting for him to finally show up.
But he did come.
For many, it didn't feel like he came in time.
For others, his arrival went unnoticed.
Many religions celebrate the advent season with weekly themes and candles and if you are lucky there are also delicious German chocolate advent calendars to mark the days leading up to Christmas. The term advent is still very closely related to Christ's birth but it can have other meanings too. Many people refer to Christ's return as a second coming, or second advent. Since we don't actually know when that is going to happen, there are no chocolate calendars to tik off the days leading up to it.
I think there are many "comings" of Christ. To be clear, I'm not attempting to debunk the Bible, I'm talking about the times that Christ showed up when we needed him most. When God intervened in a difficult situation. When the Holy Spirit made unseen things seen. When we had no hope and someone delivered it in just the way we needed.
We are in a crazy time in the world right now and I believe that we are waiting for God to show up. To bring us weather to stop the spread, a vaccine to prevent it, medicine to cure it, and courage to get through it all. To give us the patience we need to hunker down, peace when someone we care about has their lives altered because of it, trust that we will get through it, and faith that He is in it.
So in the spirit of Advent...I'm listening to Christmas music and I will not feel any shame for it.
Biblically, advent refers to the coming of Christ. The coming of a messiah, a savior, a king, a judge, and a comforter, was promised hundreds, maybe thousands I don't recall, of years prior to Jesus' arrival. There was hope that the messiah would come, and there were promises of his arrival, but there was also a heck of a lot of waiting for him to finally show up.
But he did come.
For many, it didn't feel like he came in time.
For others, his arrival went unnoticed.
Many religions celebrate the advent season with weekly themes and candles and if you are lucky there are also delicious German chocolate advent calendars to mark the days leading up to Christmas. The term advent is still very closely related to Christ's birth but it can have other meanings too. Many people refer to Christ's return as a second coming, or second advent. Since we don't actually know when that is going to happen, there are no chocolate calendars to tik off the days leading up to it.
I think there are many "comings" of Christ. To be clear, I'm not attempting to debunk the Bible, I'm talking about the times that Christ showed up when we needed him most. When God intervened in a difficult situation. When the Holy Spirit made unseen things seen. When we had no hope and someone delivered it in just the way we needed.
We are in a crazy time in the world right now and I believe that we are waiting for God to show up. To bring us weather to stop the spread, a vaccine to prevent it, medicine to cure it, and courage to get through it all. To give us the patience we need to hunker down, peace when someone we care about has their lives altered because of it, trust that we will get through it, and faith that He is in it.
So in the spirit of Advent...I'm listening to Christmas music and I will not feel any shame for it.
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