Psalm 39:6-7
Advent Greetings to you! As you may well know, we are in the Christian season of Advent, a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Savior at Christmas. For the first half of my life, Advent meant little to me. I may have heard the word at church and used it in reference to a fancy paper calendar counting down the days until Christmas. I had no idea that Advent was a season of the Christian Year. Of course, I didn’t realize there was such a thing as the Christian Year, either. When I became a pastor, I began learning about Advent and ways it could enrich both our corporate worship and our relationship with God. I also discovered that Advent helped me solve one of the perplexing riddles of Christmastime, “The Riddle of Bustling Christmas.” The riddle goes something like this. As Christmas approaches, it would be good for me to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, to prepare my heart to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Savior. But the weeks before Christmas are filled with activities: decorating, shopping, wrapping, partying, traveling, planning, cooking, eating, and, if you’re a pastor, being super busy at church. It’s hard to find time to reflect on the true meaning of the season when the season is so filled with activities . . . activities I love, by the way. So, how in the world can I get my heart ready for welcoming Jesus at Christmas when in Christmastime I am bustling about rather than finding time for reflection and prayer? Early in my life, I would try to make my pre-Christmas experience more “spiritual.” But The Riddle of Bustling Christmas seemed to have no solution. Then, by God’s grace through some friends in seminary, I began to learn about Advent. Rather than trying to cut back on pre-Christmas festivities and force myself to be more “spiritual,” I started to infuse the weeks before Christmas with Advent-themed Scripture readings, reflections, music, colors, worship, traditions, and prayers. I went from ignorance of Advent to a love of Advent. In fact, I became an “Adventophile,” which means “Lover of Advent” (the term was coined by a Fuller professor). In preparing for Advent and Christmas, I found a passage in the Psalms that speaks to me about the challenges and opportunities of this time of year. Psalm 39:6-7 says in the Common English Bible translation, “Yes, people wander around like shadows; yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly; they don’t even know who will get the wealth they’ve amassed. So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for? My hope is set on You.” Christmastime can be a time filled with “hustle and bustle.” Not all of it is pointless, I must say. But the psalmist’s example invites us to ask in prayer, “So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for? My hope is set on You.” Here are two of Advent’s major themes: waiting and hope. Rather than focusing on the bustling of others, rather than trying to out-bustle them, rather than fretting over their accumulation of wealth, the psalm writer opens his heart to God. “What should I be waiting for?” he asks. Not wealth or stuff or status or power. Rather, he should be waiting for the Lord because that’s where he has set his hope. As we move into the holiday season, we all have reason to bustle at times. How can we infuse even our busy times with Advent reality? But, in this season of Advent, let me encourage you to ask yourself the psalm writer’s question: “So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?” By God’s grace, may you answer that question truthfully in this way: “I am waiting for You, Lord. My hope is set on You!” Gracious God, stir up our hope as we renew our waiting for You. Comments are closed.
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