Advent is upon us. Advent is the season of preparation for the advent or coming of the Lord as the Babe of Bethlehem at Christmas.
It is also the time of preparation for the advent of the Holy Spirit who comes into our hearts anew each day, and the advent or second coming of the Messiah.
Jesus teaches us to “watch” (Mark 13:37) for His coming. God also teaches us to “wait” (Isaiah 64:4 and I Corinthians 1:7) for His return. Watching and waiting are appear to be passive verbs, but in their Biblical context they signify action.
We watch what is happening in the world to be aware of the signs of the times, recognizing that Jesus can return at any time. We wait upon the Lord as a wait staff would wait upon us if we were dining at a restaurant.
A conscientious waiter or waitress is attentive to our promptings, just as we, when we wait upon the Lord, are attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to offer God’s gracious love and forgiveness to someone who is in need.
Watching and waiting are two spiritual disciplines we can employee in the advent season to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.
Emmanuel Lutheran Church offers opportunities to wait upon the Lord and serve Jesus by helping others:
- The First Fruits food donations on the first Sunday of the month,
- The Samaritan’s Purse Shoe Box ministry,
- The gifts to single sailors through the Family Readiness Group,
- And preparation and delivery of Christmas Cookie Baskets to our shut-ins.
Of course there are other organized and personal ways of responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Please take time each day to wait upon the Lord as He is waiting to direct us.
Advent and Christmas blessings to you,
Pastor Tim Cartwright