Advent, it’s all about waiting for Christ. Or perhaps that is waiting for Christmas depending on your age. Either way, I’m not very good at waiting, and I suspect most of the rest of you aren’t either.
Waiting is hard. It requires patience. You look forward to something for so long in hope that it will just get here. And often times what we are waiting for doesn’t live up to the expectations we have in mind.
This is what happened to the people of Israel. They waited for 400 plus years before Jesus came. The people of God returned from exile, rebuilt their temple, and yet they waited. They waited for the line of David to be reestablished. They waited for another king. They waited for their Messiah who would deliver them.
The Israelites had numerous false starts in their time of waiting, and by the time the first century rolled around and the oppression of Rome had settled in Israel was done. They were done waiting. They were done being patient. They were done being oppressed. They were done.
So into the world enters baby Jesus. This long awaited Messiah, a Savior, the Good News is born to Mary and Joseph. But this Messiah looks nothing like what the people of Israel expected. Jesus didn’t come in and instantly squash the Romans. He didn’t overthrow the oppressors. He didn’t line up with the Messianic hopes of the people of Israel.
Instead, Jesus comes and proclaims a message of loving enemies, of taking care of the sick and downtrodden. He doesn’t fit the model, so much so that he frustrates both Rome and Jerusalem enough that he ends up being killed. This Messiah is killed by the people he has come to save and the people he has come to overthrow. Jesus doesn’t meet expectations.
So what do we do when Jesus doesn’t meet our expectations? What happens when our realities aren’t what we thought we were looking for?
Advent isn’t about just waiting for Jesus in the manger. Advent is also a reminder and call to the church to wait for Jesus’ return.
We look with hope and expectation for Jesus’ second coming. We wait for it patiently, all the while building the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.
The church has been waiting a while…almost 2,000 years.
What lessons can we learn from the Israelites as they waited for their Messiah? What expectations do we have of Christ’s second coming? What if it doesn’t live up to our expectations?
What are you waiting for this Advent season? How will you know when it arrives? Are you awake to God’s presence in your life even when it doesn’t meet your expectations?
Blessings to you as you wait with anticipation!
Matt