First Sunday of Advent

 

Today, we begin waiting.  What are we waiting for?  Well, you know the answer to that:  Christmas.  Advent is an annual countdown where we mark time, in one way or another, waiting for Jesus to be born.

 

This week, let’s think about how we wait for something.  When I imagine myself waiting, I think of pacing the floor, or looking at the clock, or staring out the window, or scrolling on my phone.  But when you consider it, those kinds of waiting are all active in one way or another.  They’re not so much waiting as they are doing something to avoid waiting.

 

Waiting is hard.  I mean, really waiting is hard.  But that is what we are called to do during the season of Advent.  To wait.  To appreciate the absence of the thing we need, which is the birth of the Savior into our world.

 

The seasons of Lent and Advent stand parallel to each other as preparation for the pinnacles of the church year.  In Lent, we often give something up, so that by its absence, we can focus our attention to the Cross and the empty tomb.  We know what we are missing, and that’s the point.  In a similar way, the waiting of Advent draws our attention toward the manger in Bethlehem.  We know what we are waiting for, and that’s the point.

 

So this week, I encourage you to think about waiting.  And maybe even set aside some time where you are literally doing nothing but waiting.  Consider how you wait, and what you are waiting for.