Advent: Love born out of a season of waiting

This marks the final week of anticipation. The culmination of Hope, Peace, Joy and now Love make up the season of Advent. In this time of year, we may very well find ourselves longing for at least one of these and we can all agree in our heart of hearts we long to be Loved. This reflection is different from the others because I want us to place ourselves in the love story. Love comes down to each of us in the Nativity Story and no part of creation is left out. Even if you do not believe in the story of Christ, it remains true and steadfast throughout history and time. My prayer is that it will be as real for you today as it was for the those present on that fulfilling eve.

Week 4: Waiting for Love to come down

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.

Stillness loomed over the coolness of the evening. The sweet smell of fresh grass sat heavy in the mist as the shepherds patiently guarded over their sheep as they slumbered. Only the murmur of their breathing could be heard. Heavenly Peace.

Down the hill in a small village nestled in a manger lay a panting woman ready to burst with want of child. Round yon’ virgin.

Night swaddled them in its cloak of quiet rest. In the wait. In the darkness. Life anticipating His glorious entrance. Glory streams from Heaven above.

Throughout the year we often lay in wait. Wrestling in the darkness. We wonder when hope will be realized among those for which we pour our body and souls. We are expended at all cost, for the cost is life. We enter the Advent season at the brink of our brokenness due to a long season of teaching, meetings, errands, travel, holidays, and care for our families, but emerge into a fresh new season at the declaration and arrival of Love.

However, let us not neglect the precious gift of waiting; it is the hallmark of the Advent season and fitting for our final reflection before Christmas morning.

Final Advent Reflection:

1. For in the wait illumination is revealed. It’s not a coincidence that the glory of God’s light arrived in the darkness of night. Our waiting often feels like darkness; an unmet expectation, personal struggle, stress of work or spiritual oppression. Loneliness creeps into our quiet times until that one miraculous moment when light streams down from the heavens to illuminate what had been birthed in the shroud of cover.

Reflection: As you light your advent candles, or Christmas lights this season, reflect on the promise that God will illuminate that for which you are longing. Remember He is the God of light that pierces through the darkness to reveal what He has done.

2. Waiting is a gift. For those of us with children, we take pleasure in watching our little ones wriggle in their jammies every night waiting for the coming of Christmas morning. There is something they want and they can’t bear to wait for it. We love watching them wait because we want them to learn patience and that Christmas is not just about gifts, but loving others and remembering Christ. But what if we as adults could view Christ’s coming in this way. Our good daddy has a gift and we lay in wait for its reveal; we can hardly sleep a wink in want of it. Waiting is God’s way of preparing our hearts for the gift being given. We don’t like to wait much less love waiting, but wisdom is born out of our anticipation.

Reflection: Perhaps you’ve been waiting for something to happen this year: a new job, baby, marriage, your ministry to grow, friendship, or health. Advent allows us the space to reflect on what we have struggled and learned. What gifts of wisdom has God given you this year? How do those gifts bring hope into your Advent season?

3. Waiting is active. Waiting is a movement in our souls. Waiting primes the walls of our often dingy hearts toward refreshment. There is an act taking place as we wait. We can choose to be disappointedly waiting by feeling stuck in a rut, left without an answer, or we can embrace the active work of the fruit of the Spirit sprouting up in our life whilst we feel dormant. A plant does not grow without first dying and then left to wait over the long winter. Even soot-covered grey plants dusted by pollution revive into blossoming bursts of color in spring. No different from our souls in wait. The dead zone of waiting is like the quiet stirring of God’s spirit over the dark abyss, it is there that creation is forming life.

Reflection: You may sense the abyss engulfing you, but in that calming state of rest something is being composed, a transformation is awaking, it only takes time. Are you tired of waiting? Is the darkness heavy over your heart? Bring it to God, ask him to remind you that he’s hovering over you, weaving and creating in your life even in the darkness. The long awaited need for Christ bore heavy on the people of Israel. We often read in the Bible, “How long O’ Lord?” If that is your cry this Advent, remember Emmanuel comes. The waiting ends and promises are fulfilled.

Advent means a coming into place, view or being; arrival. Advent is a season of preparation laid in wait. Christ has presently come into place. Hope has pierced through the darkness and salvation has come into view. Love has been born and dwells among us and through us. Fulfillment of promises has arrived. Out of waiting has come life. O’ Holy Night.