Advent is the season of waiting.
Waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the Incarnation of the Word, and the birth of Jesus.
Waiting for Immanuel, God with Us.
But that waiting involes more than simply passing the time of a particular season. Truly waiting for the birth of Christ involves meditating on who He is — and on what His coming truly means.
He was poor that he might make us rich. He was born of virgin that we might be born of God. He took our flesh that he might give us his spirit.
The Free Church of Scotland does not ‘observe’ Advent, not in any formal way. And yet, every Christian experiences seasons of waiting, times when the Lord through His working in our lives calls on us to patiently wait on Him.
The people of the old covenant, Israel, experienced times of waiting both specifically and generally. Specifically, incidents like the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, or before that, the 400-year sojourn in Egypt, spoke eloquently to seasons of waiting which God laid on His people.
In the latter example, it’s worth remembering that entire generations of God’s people were born and died without ever seeing the fulfillment of some of God’s long-standing promises. They kept the faith regardless.
More generally, the entire redemptive story of God is largely one of waiting. From Eden to Christ, there was one long wait for the One who would ‘bruise the head’ of the serpent.
He lay in the manger that we might lie in paradise. He came down from heaven that he might bring us to heaven… that the Ancient of Days should be born, that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle, that he who rules the stars should suck the breast…
Then came Christ, His birth, life, death, and resurrection. Then the ascension, and the long wait began again.
Advent is a time of waiting, a special one that reminds those who wait 'again for His coming (INSERT verse to judge sd,fmsdfm.) that others once faithfully waited before.
They waited, and their wait was rewarded with the shouts of men and angels, the adoration of the wise and the lowly, the miracle, as Thomas Watson says in the excerpt above, of the ‘Ancient of Days’ being born.
Their wait was rewarded, and so, in turn, shall ours be.
…that a virgin should conceive, that Christ should be made of a woman, and of that woman which himself made, that the branch should bear the vine, that the mother should be yonger than the child she bore, and the child in the womb bigger than the mother.
Waiting can, sometimes, be the best part. It’s the anticipation for what’s coming that makes the wait worth it. Surprise gifts are fun, of course — but there’s a sweet reward to knowing what is coming, to looking forward to the arrival, and of finding even your wildest expectations wildly exceeded.
Such is the story of Advent. All those involved in the story were part of the long wait, the long cry of sojourn, the long anguish of those who were seeking a ‘city not built with hands.’ And while they waited, they hoped, and prayed, and looked to God.
And God came, wondrously.
…that the human nature should not be God, yet one with God; this was not only amazing, but miraculous.
This, then, is one of the lessons of Advent. Waiting is part of the point. It focuses our mind, directs our attention to the things above and beyond ourselves, and forces us to confront a deeper question; what, exactly, are we waiting for?
‘He who comes to God must believe that He is,’ the Scripture says. We who still wait for the Second Coming of Jesus can look back and remember God’s people waiting for His first appearing… and know that it is God for whom we wait.
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24-25
If you would like to know more or want to talk to someone from the church, please reach out to dumbartonfreehighchurch@gmail.com. You’re always welcome to join us for worship on Sunday mornings as well at 11:15.