This year Advent has a different feel for me, perhaps it does for you as well. Fears of another covid Christmas, the ongoing pain and grief of loss, the weight of so many things wrong in the world–climate change, racism, gender violence, military coups– to name a few. I can’t help crying, Come Lord Jesus, as I begin to think about and prepare for this special time of year. The need to remember, celebrate, seek out, pay attention to, anticipate and bear witness to Christ among us—seems so great.
Come Lord Jesus– the theme song of Advent invites us to look back and dream forward. It’s both a prayer and an assurance. I sing it from a different place this year but perhaps that’s the point; are we not invited to sing it from every place? The calling and the conviction resonate on both the sunny and bright days and the dark, disappointing, and distressing ones. In all times, Advent steers us to the ‘arrival’ of something new, longed for yet unexpected, imagined yet mysterious, risky, and challenging.
The challenge is to be open to the vulnerability of this space between. To see without seeing. To know without knowing. To be in the moment and at the same time stepping forward with trust and anticipation. I do not always feel up to the challenge, but then again, I don’t think those 2000 years ago having waited for 400 years in the space between felt up for it all the time either.
Even so, or perhaps because it is so, Advent invites us to ponder the ‘old, old, old story’ again for the first time and be inspired! It also invites us to name our longings and pay attention to them—we long for peace in a broken world, hope in a desperate world, joy overcoming fear and love that covers overall, is above all, in and for all. Advent along with the celebration of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” compel us to respond, to participate, to join in with what God is doing as the reigning One who’s Kingdom has come and is on its way–
It insists on, and boldly and brightly declares: “The Word has become flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). That affirmation assures us that God has entered human history through the incarnation of the Son and is making all things new!
It insists on, and boldly and brightly declares: “The Word has become flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). That affirmation assures us that God has entered human history through the incarnation of the Son and is making all things new!
Many people in this Forge Canada community are joining together on a forty-day devotional journey to continue to cultivate our awareness of God’s presence in our midst—past, present, and future—and live it. If you would like to participate, sign up to receive the weekly guides that include texts, prayer prompts and neighbourhood ‘joining in’ practices here.
