Joyful

We are now into the third week of Advent, which began last Sunday. As we come closer to the special time of celebrating of the birth of Jesus Christ, Lord of all people, we are able to experience the Joy of his coming! That is the traditional emphasis of this, the third week of Advent: Joy! There is great joy expressed by many people in the Biblical narrative of Jesus’ birth. As we have seen as a part of Gilbert’s sermons, Mary is joyful with the expectation of God’s great work within herself. Elizabeth tells Mary that John “leaped for joy” at the sound of Mary’s greeting. We will see that Angels, foreign kings, and elderly prophetesses all rejoice at the sight of Jesus, at the sight of God come near.

This is our joy as well. We too are joyful to experience God come near to us. We have the great blessing of being able to “put on Christ”, as Paul would say, through the work of the cross- God’s ultimate sacrifice, and goal to extend his salvation to all people through Jesus.

I know a man who, every year around this time, takes a day off of work to do things that for him allow him to celebrate and experience the joy of the season. Taking a day off may not be an option for you, but I encourage each of us to intentionally take time this week to remember and experience the joy of God come near.

The Second Week of Advent

By the time you get this, we should be around half way through the second week of Advent- a season of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth.

When parents are expecting an addition to their family, they do a great deal of planning and preparation. Books are read, diapers are put on dolls, paint colors are examined, safety, feeding, and playtime and pacification items are selected and purchased. And that only scratches the surface!

An ancient Advent symbol, is that of the Advent Wreath. The wreath has four or five candles, and they each symbolize something else. The second candle- lit on the second Sunday of advent is the candle of preparation.

Certainly Mary and Joseph prepared as any parents would (though without modern conveniences, or intricacies!) as they expectantly awaited the arrival of Christ in the world. Just as any parents, I’m sure they got together supplies, advice from those they respected, and prepared a home for their fledgling family.

We too must prepare for the coming of Christ! I think we prepare for two different aspects of his coming. Firstly, His people are about preparing the world for His second coming. We do this by showing God to others and by inviting them to participate in the New Kingdom with us. Secondly, we prepare ourselves to welcome him in our own lives. We must continually prepare ourselves to hear, accept, and follow God’s calling in our lives.

This week, make strong efforts to prepare for the coming of Christ!