Pastor’s Blog - December 2011

Advent season is upon us. While the world thinks of this month as the end of the year, the church calendar places Advent at the very beginning. Advent is a month of preparation for the coming of Christ into the world, culminating with Christmas. It comes from the Latin word adventus that means “arrival.” (One of the few words I remember from my 9th grade Latin class.) We wait once again for the birth of the Messiah, the anointed one of God.
 
Waiting is not a quality we value in our highly technological culture. We want it now. A few weeks ago, I saw a video ad for a laptop computer that was thrown out of the open door of an airplane. Just before the free-fall, the thrower turned it on. It was attached to a parachute package. We watched the computer fall to the earth as the seconds ticked away. Within ten seconds the laptop had booted up. (It was ready to go.) And when it did, the parachute opened, saving the valuable piece of hardware from total destruction. All this effort was created to show how quickly this brand of computer goes to work. Good news for those who don’t like to wait.
 
But in the community gathered around Jesus, waiting can be a positive experience. The church is a place where waiting has great rewards. We are invited to slow down and take notice of what’s going on around us. We can learn to curb our impatience to get things done right now.
 
When you think about it, God’s people waited for the Messiah at least 500 years. From the time of Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah till Jesus was born in Bethlehem, many, many generations lived and died. Their “waiting for the Lord” taught them that their strength did not ultimately come from their achievements. Those who learned to wait for the Lord renewed their strength; they were able to mount up with wings like eagles; they could run and not be weary; they could walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). That’s a pretty good lesson, isn’t it?
 
I’d like to offer an Advent prayer about waiting. Written by Maren C. Tirabassi,
it comes from The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers. May it help us to
grow in our ability to wait upon the Lord in these weeks before Christmas.
 
Prayer. 
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, O Promised One: Once again we come to
this time of Advent and await your presence.
Give us the patience to seek the meaning of these busy days.
Give us the courage to wait in times of pain and trouble.
Give us the compassion to wait for one another.
Give us the faith to wait for the Messiah when we are threatened
by the Herods of this world.
Give us the hope to wait for the Savior even when we cannot hear the angels singing.
Give us the love that does not wait when it meets Christ in our neighbor. Amen.
Pastor Ed