Presence Weekly 12/04/2023

[The Devo] Waiting and Advent

“The waiting is the hardest part.” Tom Petty was almost spot on when he said that. 

I say, almost, because Petty’s statement misses an important point about context. It’s not hard to wait for a dentist appointment or an oil change, for example. It seems that the difficulty in waiting is proportional to the joy that comes with the object we’re waiting for. 

With the 2024 election ahead of us, many are waiting for a new Congress to be sworn in so everything broken in this country can finally be fixed. Others are waiting for a new administration to take charge of the Executive branch so that America can recover from the perceived damage of the past four years. 

Waiting is, indeed, the hardest part when the thing we are waiting for has been the focus of our hopes and dreams for years. Waiting is made even harder when we are waiting for horrible wrongs to be made right and for redemption and restoration to finally win the day. That deep sense of longing for redemption and restoration is what Advent is all about. 

Advent began this past Sunday. It marks the beginning of the liturgical calendar, a calendar which is designed to tell the story of redemption and restoration. Each week, Christians around the world will light Advent candles, sing Christmas hymns, and recite passages from the Old Testament that foretold the coming of the Messiah. 

Passages such as the one Isaiah the Prophet declared to a people about to go into captivity in Babylon:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion — to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.  — Isaiah 61:1-4 (ESV)

This was a promise of future deliverance which the people bound for captivity would not experience for 70 years. For them, the waiting was the hardest part. 

And yet, the Jerusalem they eventually returned to was a blighted village compared to the city their grandparents had inhabited. Even when the Temple was rebuilt, the workers wept because it paled in comparison to the former Temple. The redemption and restoration they were waiting for was incomplete. 

Not surprisingly, Luke records Jesus preaching on this passage in his first sermon, 

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  — Luke 4:16-21 (ESV)

Jesus makes it clear that He is the redemption and restoration they have been waiting for. And by his actions over the next three years, he would offer redemption and restoration to many; ultimately laying down his own life to secure our salvation. 

But even now the need for redemption and restoration remains. 

No negotiated cease-fire will bring the peace we all long for. No new administration, Congress, or Supreme Court appiontment will bring about the fullness of restoration we are waiting to experience. And yet, many of us are more excited about the advent of these human institutions than we are about the Advent of the return of Christ who promises, 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.  — Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV)

That does not mean that our efforts at bringing justice, mercy, and flourishing are pointless. They are, in fact, quite meaningful. As Christians serving and leading in government and the larger public square, an important part of our worship is participating in Christ's mission of making all things new and offering foretastes of the New Heavens and New Earth, when Christ will once again dwell with his people.

For the joy this brings, the waiting is truly the hardest part. 

Applications 

1. As you consider the next 12 months, what is it that you are waiting for?
2. How does the expectation and anticipation of these longings encourage you? How do they discourage you?

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