“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (Psalm 27:14).One of the words that best captures the season of Advent is waiting. Now granted, waiting is not something we do very well. No child enjoys waiting until Christmas to open his presents. No adult enjoys waiting in long lines at the store to purchase that last minute gift. No driver enjoys waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic as the winter snow slows everything down. But when it comes to faith, waiting is an integral part of who we are as children of the heavenly Father.
God’s people of old waited in patience and hope for the coming of the Messiah. Adam and Eve waited. Noah waited. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob waited. Moses waited. King David waited. In fact, every Old Testament saint died waiting for the Messiah. Thus, they died in faith and are even now with Christ in heaven. The One for whom they waited—Jesus, the Christ—was finally welcomed into this world by Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, and the wise men.
We, too, wait. But not for Christ’s first coming. That day has already come and gone. Instead we wait for His second coming. Although we know neither the day nor the hour of His return, we have His sure and certain promise that He is coming again (Matthew 25). Thus, we wait. We are watchful and ready. We wait in patience and hope for the Day when our Lord Jesus will come again in glory to take us bodily to our eternal home. Which is why the Apostle Paul writes:
“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).And as we wait, we rejoice that Jesus comes to us even here and now. Every time we gather together in His name, He is here in our midst (Matthew 18:20). Every time we hear His Word, He is here in our midst (Romans 10:17). Every time we receive His true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, He is here in our midst (John 6:56). In short, He is here in Word and Sacrament to forgive our sins, to strengthen our faith, and to enliven our hope in His second coming!
2000 years ago Jesus became our Emmanuel (“God with us”). Today He is still with us in Word and Sacrament. And someday, on the Last Day, we will bodily be with Him in heaven. Advent wraps up all of these mysteries and beckons us to wait, to anticipate, to prepare. Why? Because...
“Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:28).Let that be your joy this Advent, this Christmas, and always!
