Healing Rays of Righteousness

Advent is the beginning of a new year in the worship and liturgy of the Christian Church. The Church year begins with the biblical message of “hope-filled waiting” for God’s coming. The prophet Isaiah reassures us that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).

However, waiting is often not easy for us. It seems to be a waste of precious time. Nevertheless, even though we may not like to wait, it is a part of our living in this world. The important issue is about how we wait, for that matters in shaping our attitudes and perspectives about life and its future.

Advent is about “hope-filled waiting.” Advent is about both the anticipation and preparation for God’s coming into this world, clothed with human flesh, to redeem and restore all of us into a love relationship with Himself.

Advent focuses on the anticipation of God’s promised coming rather than on its fulfillment. Advent is the quiet, confident joy of hope-filled expectation of Christ being born anew in the cradle of my heart and life. Advent is the sincere, soul-searching work of preparing myself to welcome his coming to transform and energize me anew for Kingdom living.

Many years before the birth of Jesus, the Old Testament prophets were writing and preaching about waiting for one who would be like a light in the darkness, who would judge with perfect righteousness, and who would comfort with peace, joy, and healing.

Those to whom the prophets spoke were weary with waiting. They had become impatient and discouraged. They wanted the Messiah to come now, but God kept saying through the events of history and the prophets, “wait.”

It seems to me that we often display the same impatience in our Advent attitudes and activities. In my lifetime, Thanksgiving Day has been diminished to simply a launching pad for our rush toward Christmas Day with its beautiful music and story of Jesus’s birth.

We would much rather go directly to Bethlehem and Jesus’ birth without being reminded of the repeated messages from the prophets and John the Baptist to expectantly wait and prepare. They all insisted that our preparation and repentance is needed before we can appropriately welcome and appreciate God’s coming to our world in human flesh.

The Advent season of four weeks does not give us permission to rush toward Bethlehem and Jesus’ manger birth. Advent is God’s annual appeal for us to wait, repent, and prepare for the new transforming comings of His Kingdom on earth, even as it is in heaven.

Advent provides for us a time for solemn and thoughtful waiting, watching, and preparing for a new experience of Christ’s redeeming, transforming birthings in our life and world.

This mood of “hope-filled waiting” is expressed in the music of our Advent hymns, such as “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” – “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” – “Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus.” But we often, I think, unwittingly display our impatience when we short-circuit the message and purpose of Advent by prematurely singing the Christmas Day hymns, like “Joy To The World” – “To Us A Child Of Hope Is Born” – “Silent Night, Holy Night.” (Side note) I wish we would continue singing these hymns for at least through January. These hymns carry the “good new” message of Jesus Christ and should not be shelved so quickly after Christmas Day.

The season of Advent is our “time out” to see God at work in our world. Advent is our “time out” to focus again on the coming of God’s kingdom where mercy, justice, joy, and peace dwell. Advent is our “time out” to renew our commitment to preparing the way for His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

How desperately our world needs to hear the Christmas message of hope, peace, and good will among men. How desperately the world needs each one of us to live that message each day of our lives.

The King of Glory comes. Prepare the way for His coming. He is our only hope. He is the world’s only hope. He is our salvation, the Savior born to us. Are we ready to receive Him into our lives and world?

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Prayer Hymn

“Oh, How Shall I Receive Thee”

Oh, how shall I receive thee, how meet thee on thy way,
bless’d hope of ev’ry nation, my soul’s delight and stay?
O Jesus, Jesus, give me now by thine own pure light
to know what-e’er is pleasing and welcome in thy sight.

Love caused thine incarnation; Love brought thee down to me.
Thy thirst for my salvation procured my liberty.
Oh, love beyond all telling, that led thee to embrace,
in love, all love excelling, our lost and troubled race.

Thou com-est, Lord, with gladness, in mercy and good will,
to bring an end to sadness and bid our fears be still.
We welcome thee, our Savior; come gather us to thee,
that in thy light eternal our joyous home may be.

(Paul Gerhardt, 1653)
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 2, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley