advent anticipation

(photo courtesy: Skye Hallman)

Come, thou long expected Jesus.

This is by far my most favorite season in the church. We are encouraged to hurry up and wait for the coming of a tiny babe. The same thing happens every year, we get busy wanting to buy just the right gift, take the best dessert to the holiday party, dominate in the most tacky sweater possible, that we bustle right over the season of Advent. I refuse to let this season go to waste. 

Sharlande Sledge uses the image of waking up to Advent, we "[Stretch] and [yawn] from ordinary time, we stumble to the door of your Advent." We barely recognize it because it sneaks up on us so. We can't even open our eyes yet it seems too early. But, friends, the time has come. 

Each week we light a candle. The colors: purple, pink and white and the green of the wreath adorning the candles; the candle a welcoming of the holy light, the wreath a symbol of just how long God's love and reign will endure. On this first Sunday of Advent, we light a candle remembering that we have precious hope. This hope runs deep in the currents of our lives because it is a hopefulness that only the coming of God incarnate can bring. We are wrapped in hymnody and the richness of symbols. 

May your Advent season be one filled with longing, and ardent anticipation for the coming of a king. 

Join me as we count the days; light the candles and seek to understand better this waiting game.

"Come surely, Lord Jesus, as dawn follows night, our hearts long to greet you, as roses, the light. Salvation, draw near us, our vision engage. One candle is lit for the hope of the age." 

(One Candle is Lit, Chalice Hymnal, Mary Anne Parrott)