The Season of Waiting

Today both at home and at church Brandon and I started celebrating Advent.

I did not grow up celebrating Advent but as an adult, I have learned to find it quite comforting.  Among all of the parties and decorating and final exams and work, this idea of Christmastime as a season of quiet, obedient waiting is both challenging and comforting.

It also feels appropriate as days grow shorter and the darkness extends.  One of the emphases of Advent is that Christmastime is about a "Silent Night."  Advent, for me, is about how in a world that is dark and still and silent- separated from God by sin- a world that doesn't even know that it is kept apart from its Creator, is in a place of waiting; a place of marking time, hoping for a Savior.  This time of Advent is a reflection of how Jewish communities before Christ were waiting and hoping for the return of their Messiah.

Christians once called the Christmas season a 'time of perpetual hope.'  Hope for a miracle, for a King who would bridge the gap between humanity and God.

I am looking forward to participating in this year's Advent.  I am looking forward to reflecting on what it must have been like to try and wait for the fulfillment of promises, of Scriptures, with hope instead of anxiety.