What are we waiting for by Stewart Perry
This Sunday we begin the season of Advent. Advent has been popularised (or commercialised one might suggest) by the ‘advent calendar’ and this year most advent calendars are actually right. Despite the popular belief that Advent begins on the 1st of December each year and we count down 25 days until Christmas, Advent actually begins on the 1st Sunday of Advent which this year just so happens to fall on the 1st of December. It is possible for Advent to begin as early as the 27th of November or as late as the 3rd of December.
Advent is a season of waiting and expectation… but not for Christmas. Advent is a season where the Christian church throughout the ages has reflected on, in waiting anticipation, the second coming of Christ into our world, not the anniversary for the first. Before you get panicked, I am not suggesting we all run down the rabbit holes of the doomsday cults. I believe what Jesus says, we will not know the hour or the time… in the meantime we wait and we do so with expectation.
But lets face it… that’s not how it works these days…
Santa Claus has been at Robina Town Centre for over a month, the decorations are up in the streets and the Christmas carols are playing where-ever we go. In the last few days I’ve even seen a couple of cars driving around the Gold Coast with fairy lights all over them. The run up to Christmas has never been longer and the hype and build up has never been so pronounced.
But will it be worth it? For just one day?
Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is one of my favourite days of the year. There’s nothing better than seeing our churches filled to overflowing with the joy and wonder of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I will work extra hard and I know many others in our church will spend countless hours ensuring that what we present over Christmas will be meaningful, impactful and above all Jesus centred. It is an opportunity for the Church worldwide to present the meaning behind the season, but it’s also an opportunity to correct the misconception… it’s not just about the one day.
I’m conscious of the pressure, anxiety, loneliness and unrealistic expectation that weighs on many at this time of year. If you don’t fit the stereotype of the Christmas movies, this can be a really hard time of year. I wonder if the Church often proliferates these negativities by the extra focus we place on Christmas. When the extra effort and attention should be rightfully placed on meeting the needs of those who are vulnerable and hurting, and less concerned on putting on a show for a crowd.
There’s nothing wrong with with having a show or a crowd at Christmas… just as long as we get the perspective of what we are waiting for right. What are we waiting for? We are waiting for people to encounter Jesus. We might not know the hour or time of Christ’s return but as we wait, through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church, we can provide opportunities for people to encounter Jesus… and the best way I know how to do that, is the way that takes no extra preparation or effort once a year… it’s living each day in a way that reflects that we are experiencing Jesus in our lives.
If we want others to experience the awe and wonder of Christmas, then first we must be seekers of the awe and wonder of God which is to be found each and every day in some of the most surprising ways.
I pray that this Advent we might wait… I pray that we might have expectation… I pray that we might seek and find encounters with Jesus… I pray that in our seeking and finding that others might encounter Jesus and be moved and transformed by the awe and wonder of God, not just this Christmas but throughout the rest of their lives.
Happy waiting
Stewart