Message from the Pastor - Archive
December 2009
Waiting for something to happen is probably no one’s favorite thing to do. Waiting in a doctor’s office, in a traffic jam, on the telephone (“Your call is important to us…”) can be quite a nuisance. I try to make the best of waiting times, putting for example the phone on speakerphone so that I can do other things while being in the waiting line, and I have to admit that I enjoy the yellow press in waiting rooms giving me an update on Angelina and Brad. However, I would not claim that this is quality time spent.
This season of Advent is also a time of waiting. But this kind of waiting does not have to be a nuisance. It can be quality time spent by preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ into our lives; it can be the time of the year to be reminded what Christ in our lives means.
Realistically – and unfortunately – it is not easy to make Advent a time of preparation. It is the busiest time of the year with numerous trips to shopping malls, baking cookies, and attending Christmas parties. So many things need to be prepared and taken care of that the call to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ can quickly become an additional burden on top of all the other chores. That’s why it can be helpful for us to consciously set some time apart before the madness of the season takes over. Let’s make the words of the prophet Isaiah the guiding words for this season:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Blessings for this Season of Advent!