Advent

Advent; the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and let her cry

That her warfare is ended

That her iniquity is pardoned,

That she has received from the Lord’s hand

Double for all her sins.

A voice cries;

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

Make straight in the desert a highway for our God,

Every valley shall be lifted up,

And every mountain and hill made low

The uneven ground shall be level,

And the rough places a plain

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

And all flesh shall see it together

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

 

Isaiah 40:1-5 ESV

 

   I was at a local park recently and seeing the bare trees and the light snow on the ground got me thinking.  My smart thought was that even in the barrenness of winter, there is still a beauty in nature.  I have noticed that with the snow on the ground and the bare trees, things seem to echo a little more and I can hear things not only more clearly, but often things that are far off can be heard like the whistle of a train horn or traffic on a distant road.  I can see through the woods better because the leaves are not acting as a shield or cover for things that reside in the woods.  It got me thinking what does this idea of barreness affect our lives, but play into Advent. 

  My first observation is that this idea of bareness forces us into this fight or flight concept.  We can either fight the bareness of our lives by changing habits, such has praying harder, reading self help books or the Bible more, to attending small groups, and even seeking counseling.  None of these things are bad, but in our fighting are we keeping the real issues at arms length and not addressing it.  For me, I can eat less and exercise more to lose weight, but it still doesn’t deal with the issue of that I find comfort in food because it doesn’t tell me no.  The flight concept is either not recognizing the problem or doing nothing about it because it is to hard.  How often do we not deal with a problem because it is to hard, or we have to change something that we hold dear, or admit that we are just wrong.  I know I don’t like to be wrong and how can I be wrong if I don’t admit to it.

   My second observation is that sometimes we just need to embrace the suck.  If 2020 has taught us anything, that is embracing the suck is necessary.  It does not mean we throw are hands up in the air and doing nothing, because that adds to the mess.  Instead it is moving forward, picking our battles, and extending grace to ourselves and others.  Embracing the suck forces us to be in the present and the here and now, and not fast forwarding to 2021.  To paraphrase my favorite narcissistic television doctor, Gregory House, things change and its not always for the better.  A presidential election hasn’t made things better and I am not so sure a change in the calendar year will provide the change we are looking for, but what can make it better is our attitude and how we treat others and ourselves.  Do we extend grace, love and truth, or do we extend, hate, bitterness and anger?

  My third observation on why bareness can be beautiful is because we have the opportunity to embrace our own humanity.  This means that we have the ability to recognize the good in our lives, and things that are not so good.  When we embrace our own humanity, we can embrace not only how others see us, but how God sees us.  This means that those areas in our life that are painful, we can start to deal with them.  Whether it is a relationship or expectations that have not been fulfilled, we can take a look at those and start the healing process.  When we embrace our humanity, we realize just how selfish we are and how our disobedience and sin has altered our relationship with others and with God.  Thankfully God forgives and He can make all things new. 

   So one might wondering what connection bareness has to Advent.  Being barren has the connotation of expectation.  With bareness, we can either expect that things will stay the same and nothing will change, or there is the expectation that things will improve and that spring and new life will eventually come.  Advent is the same way, because it is about expectation.  Advent is about the expected coming of the promise Messiah.  The nation of Israel held on to the promise of the Messiah will come and make things right.  The Messiah did come in the form of Jesus being born in the manger.  Just like the nation of Israel, we are in the season of Advent right now, expecting Jesus to come back again. This time when He comes back, it is to gather His people and commune with Him eternally.  Advent is not only about preparing ourselves for the coming of Messiah, but also embracing and sharing Gods grace, joy, hope and love. 

Questions to Ponder

    What does it mean to embrace the suck?

    How does our expectation inform us on how we live?