Come Thou Long Expected Jesus: First Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings


Isaiah 2:2  In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Psalm 122: 8   For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, "Peace be within you."
Matthew 24:44  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.


And So...We Wait

Tomorrow begins my favorite season in the Christian calendar. For some reason, Advent turns me into a small child all over again. I always find my love of Advent rather ironic. I was raised Southern Baptist. We always had a Christmas play, Christmas choir service, Christmas parties, and Watch Night Services (this is where you sit up all night and pray and sing). We did not light candles, have an Advent wreath or even say the word Advent. I didn't learn about Advent till I became Methodist as a teen. The candles captivated me. The prayers and singing captivated me. It was, and still is, a moment of supreme happiness for me.

The word "advent" comes from the Latin word adventus, which means to come. It is a time many view as a preparation not only for the coming of the Christ Child, but also the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. This second meaning is not an idea I'd contemplated much till now. I've always seen Advent in terms of the Christ Child. The scriptures for tomorrow, however, focus strongly on the second coming.

Expecting Jesus

It seems funny. Humans have spent a lot of their time here on Earth expecting Messiah in some form or other. The Hebrew people predicted Him early on. Look at the scripture from Isaiah. He tells of a leader who will come and people will stream to Him. If we read the entire scripture for tomorrow from Isaiah, the prophet describes this leader as a man who shall  

judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4)

I find this scripture interesting because by the time Jesus was born, the People of Israel seem to have forgotten this part of the prophecy. They awaited a Messiah who would lead them in war against Rome. Here, though, Isaiah indicates that peace shall reign under this king. He is not exactly what people think of as king, but then God never offers us the expected.

Jesus was unexpected. He was nothing like what His people wanted, but everything they needed. He attempted to re-teach what it meant to be with God. It's too bad they weren't ready for Him. I'm not sure we're really ready for Him now, two thousand years later.

He's Coming Again

This is where I may get into trouble. The scriptures in the Lectionary this week focus on the Second Coming of Christ. I was raised Southern Baptist, so that phrase has very strong, specific meaning. It conjures up visions of God on His throne telling people to go to hell. It's a time of fearfulness. Many people spend their lives waiting for this moment, predicting this moment, and thinking that this moment is the crux of our faith. Lots of us grew up afraid that we would be the goats instead of the lambs. What's interesting about the scripture in Matthew is that it basically we don't know when He is coming back, but we need to be ready. There are lots of interpretations about "be ready."

I am not really ready to embrace the fearful approach to this. I know a lot of people who skitter around in fear over this moment. I used to do this too. As I read this scripture tonight, and contemplate what it is trying to say, I have to admit, I feel a bit skittery about it too. I almost decided not to use it because of that feeling. Then it hit me--when we celebrate Advent, we are awaiting the Christ Child. We aren't afraid of Him. He brings salvation.

The One we await today--post resurrection--is the same Christ Child. He brings salvation, reconnection and love to us all. He is our Messiah. He teaches us to see God as He is, and to know that God sees us as we are. Matthew's "be ready" may well mean for our hearts to be open to the possibilities that the Christ Child is offering us as He returns.

As Charles Wesley says (and we sing [though not often enough]):

Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
 born to set thy people free; 
 from our fears and sins release us, 
 let us find our rest in thee. 

As we anticipate our Christ Child, let us contemplate and remember why He is coming (and why He is coming again). 

 

Rebirth and Prophecy

Beginnings...Again
Just so no one thinks this--I have not decided that I'm reincarnated nor that I am now to be called the Prophetess. This is the third incarnation of my blog Shekinah or Shekinah Blessing on Wordpress. I started this blog back in April, on Posterous,  as a way to contemplate, discuss, and examine the spiritual journey I am on currently and, hopefully, in the future. When I moved to Wordpress, I did so with the idea that I would be able to have a more attractive blog. Then I stopped writing for a while, mostly because I needed to regroup and life took over. I decided to move here to Blogger because I have forgotten my password for my Wordpress account, and Wordpress only recognizes my information for a blog I ran a few years ago. Very frustrating, but not life ending. In a way, this rebirth is allowing me to really think about what I want to do with this blog.

The Future
The goal for this blog is pretty straightforward. I want to share my journey, my doubts and fears, my questions and musings about God, the Higher Power, Jesus, Mother God, Father God, and the Holy Spirit. I want to look at everyday living and things that really make me go, "Huh." I want to try and see glimpses of what the unfiltered God. I also want to share all of this with you, my friends, family, and anyone else out there who wants to go to the brink and gaze over the side with me, just to see what I see. 

Like I said when I started Shekinah back in April, I am not a minister, theologian, or anyone who holds any authority. I am a lay person with theological and philosophical questions. I read the Bible (not as much as I should), I walk in the real world (like all of us), and I read and listen to many different voices (God speaks in many voices and many ways to me). I also pray. A lot. I know that Paul was right when he said, "We see through a glass darkly..." but I also know that even in this state, we have a chance to see and be with the unfiltered God, and I hope that this blog, my journey will help me and you, valued reader, share those glimpse and rejoice.

Plan
Right now there is no exact plan and no precise schedule for this blog. I have some vague idea that I am going to try and post three times a week. This will allow me to do all the things I usually do plus plan and post for this blog.

My topics will cycle around spiritual things and ideas that are going on in my mind and heart. I will warn you I bump around a bit so there may be posts about scripture and then posts about philosophy. There will definitely be links to things I think are interesting as relates to God and man.

Just So Readers Are Warned
Because this is a blog about spiritual journey and questioning, there is no doubt that something I write or muse over will offend someone. Those of you close to me know that my beliefs (especially right now) are going in a lot of directions. I know that some readers will either not agree (perfectly ok by me), or just be offended. Once again, those of you who are close to me understand that I tend to be straightforward and as honest and open as possible. Discussion of and expression of disagreement is encouraged. Hostility and nastiness because you are upset is not.

People who are blazing for a fight, need to understand that if I review posts and they are inflammatory and not conducive to open and honest discussion, those posts will be eliminated from my blog. It's not that I am censoring, but this blog is intended as a place for safe and well-spoken thought, not for the latest and greatest flame war. There are other places people go for that kind of online sport. If I, or others offend you greatly, understand--there are many, many other blogs that may be a better fit for your and your spiritual beliefs.