A meditation for the 3rd Sunday of Advent:
We wait.
In all of life we wait.
We don’t know what lies ahead, so we wait.
We may identify what we want, but often can’t bring it to fruition, so we wait.
There’s just so much that we can’t control, so we wait.
Wait with aching hearts and empty arms
Wait for diagnoses and test results
Wait for a break, a paycheck, a companion, or for justice
It’s annoying mostly. It rarely feels necessary, and sometimes feels cruel.
What is the design for all this waiting?
In Advent the natural world lies in waiting too, but believes what we often cannot:
That there is life in slowing down and stripping away
That hope lies beyond what the senses now know
That salvation is lapping up on every shore
That waiting is not a dead end, but a door
A bear preserved until spring through their reserves and snores.
Darkness is not a dead end, but a door
A turtle saved by stillness, buried in the little warmth of a pond floor
Winter is not a dead end, but a door
A honeybee warmed by the shivers of thousands more
Yielding is not a dead end, but a door
A baby born a king, but where animals were stored
A ministry slow and deliberate, not many followers to show for
A death of humiliation and mockery, a man abhorred
Yielding and longing became the death of him, but then so much more
Maybe waiting will haunt us. Maybe it will confuse us, or leave us feeling forsaken.
But maybe, just maybe, it will be the very thing used to save us.
Maybe in it we can be still but utterly awake, preserved until the spring of the new kingdom comes
and Jesus is King.
But maybe, just maybe, it will be the very thing used to save us.
Maybe in it we can be still but utterly awake, preserved until the spring of the new kingdom comes
and Jesus is King.
The Advent kind of waiting is not a punishment for not knowing enough.
It’s not just fulfillment deferred.
Advent waiting is not an inconvenience, like long lines at a store.
Advent waiting (and darkness and death and winter and yielding) are not a dead ends.
They’re doors.
It’s not just fulfillment deferred.
Advent waiting is not an inconvenience, like long lines at a store.
Advent waiting (and darkness and death and winter and yielding) are not a dead ends.
They’re doors.
Call to Worship:
Bless the Lord, bless his Holy name! He forgives our iniquities and redeems us.
Our King came down to save us and he will come again!
He crowns us with steadfast love and mercy. He renews our strength.
Our King came down to save us and he will come again!
He works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
Our King came down to save us and he will come again!
He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Our days are like grass that flourish then fade.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.
He will not keep his anger, and he does not deal with us according to our sins.
Bless the Lord all his hosts. Bless the Lord all his works. Bless his holy name!
Our King came down to save us and he will come again!
Prayer for Healing:
You have promised a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness will dwell,
but we lack anticipation for what will be. Our faith is continually wavering.
Our imaginations are fading.
but we lack anticipation for what will be. Our faith is continually wavering.
Our imaginations are fading.
Lord, awaken us in our waiting.
Meet us in our peace, or lack thereof. Forgive us for being tossed about in temptation
to disregard the supremacy of Jesus. Forgive us for being at war with one another.
to disregard the supremacy of Jesus. Forgive us for being at war with one another.
Lord, restore us in our waiting.
Meet us in our resistance of exhortation. Soften our hearts to surrender to your kindness and mercy.
Lord, humble us in our waiting.
How is it that you, the King of Kings, subjected yourself to a human pregnancy,
9 months of waiting and growing, and a vulnerable entrance to our world?
How is it that you, in all splendor and glory, left that aside to enter a life of mundane work,
broken relationships, hunger, and thirst? How is it that you, in all holiness and power,
are slow in avenging wrongs and judging the world?
9 months of waiting and growing, and a vulnerable entrance to our world?
How is it that you, in all splendor and glory, left that aside to enter a life of mundane work,
broken relationships, hunger, and thirst? How is it that you, in all holiness and power,
are slow in avenging wrongs and judging the world?
Teach us the slow and humble way of Jesus. Teach us to yield to him.
Lord, bring us imagination and hope, and the kind of anticipation that moves us from the top
of our heads to the tips of our toes.
of our heads to the tips of our toes.
Teach us the vulnerable and longing way of Jesus. Teach us to yield to him.
Light is breaking in. Salvation will come. The King is on his way.
We wait for Him. Come, Lord Jesus.
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