Christmas is always a countdown of sorts for children. It is full of innocent anticipation. Weeks prior to the celebration our childlike hearts regard the entire time as a fulfillment of promise. Our every thought is focused on the “waiting” with a fullness of heart.
I have memories of the season that still remain to this day. One story sticks out in my heart as I just recently lost my father:
He was a gentle man and holidays were animated and holy. One holiday season, my father would disappear to an inner city mission. I was too young to go along, but one evening upon his return I questioned him about his whereabouts.
“Where have you been Dad?” I asked.
“Well son, I was helping out down at the homeless shelter. Some people will get nothing in their stockings this season.”
My father, a pastor, was naturally inclined towards sermonizing, but this particular “sermonette” touched a young boy’s heart. Here we were in the midst of blessing and abundance and my father was tending to those who needed the simple things.
For him, the promise meant proclamation and not just in words but in deed.
As we harken towards Advent, Mark 1:38-39 tells us something deeply unique about the promise embedded in the life of Jesus. The disciples had been looking all over for Jesus. When they finally discovered Him, He offers up a strange pronouncement, “Let’s go to the rest of the villages so I can preach there also. This is why I’ve come.”
Jesus tells his disciples he had to be about His mission. That mission was a kingdom pronouncement of His message of redemption. Part of this proclamation involved an active engagement with powers and principalities. On some level, my father, like the Savior he served, understood that the proclamation of the Gospel was more than words and stories. It was a going from “village to village” and offering up the Good News through His embodied obedience.
Advent is the time when we practice the discipline of waiting. But this waiting is fueled by the anticipation of our Lord’s proclamation. It is a mystery to simultaneously anticipate our Lord’s return while celebrating His birth. May God bless this mystery for you this Christmas season.
