“All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore. The kings joined forces and established their camp around the water near Merom to fight against Israel. Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men.’”
“The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.... The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. For when the Son of Man returns, you will know it beyond all doubt.”
“I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.”
This is my very favorite time of year. Not Christmas itself, necessarily. Somehow, we never seem able to do the actual day justice. But the anticipation, Christmas Eve communion and candlelight services, getting excited with friends, the music and lights and even the shopping for others, that’s all pretty cool nonetheless. Especially now, it says something that we still celebrate and get excited about anything. Thank God Christians have the audacity to continue to proclaim the coming of the Lord, even to those who think Christ quit caring long ago.
Each Advent, though, a point always comes when I ask myself exactly what I am expecting of Christmas. (One reason we don’t do the day justice is probably because we don’t know what we’re looking for.) I’d be happy to sit out in the cold all night if I knew I could count on a celestial choir appearing. Riding cross-country on a camel would be worth it to see the light in Mary’s eyes and hear the first cries of her newborn Son. But assuming those were once-in-a-history occurrences, I tend to content myself with looking back toward Bethlehem when I should be looking ahead to the Lord’s return. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with the past. Unless, of course, it doesn’t prepare us for the future. Have I ever truly been fully prepared for Christmas? Not if all I really expect or hope for is a living crèche and a remarkably consistent, sad little: “Nothing much.” With that outlook, I’m rarely disappointed or surprised that Jesus doesn’t put in more of an appearance, but that’s the saddest thing of all….
The Bible is clear we will never know in advance when Jesus is going to return. Like the shepherds, we’ll only know it when we see it. However, there’s more to seeing than looking. True vision comes as much from the heart as the eyeballs. Ask the Scribes of ancient Israel. Lifetimes spent studying the Prophets and other Scripture no more prepared them for Jesus’ intervention into our world than my quiet time prepares me. The Lord made no secret of the fact that the Kingdom of God was right in front of them. They just refused delivery, because it didn’t look the way they thought it should.
This year, I’m not going into Christmas with any preconceived notions of what it should be, either. But I am going into Christmas expecting something special, because I know if I don’t, I may be the only reason that what could happen doesn’t. What if the Kingdom of heaven is at hand? Would it hurt anyone to actually be looking for it, or to expect it? Who knows, maybe it’s been right in front of our noses the whole time. Let’s at least go into it with an open mind and full appreciation of what might be possible in the power of God.
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