As we enter into this season of Advent, we enter into a season of waiting for the expected Christ child, but often we seem to enter into a season of expectations of making this a joyous season instead. The build up to Christmas gets bigger with every year. We are consumed with Christmas parties, holiday shopping, cookie baking, Christmas cards, and travel plans. We are consumed with the business of joy.
And in the midst of this, we forget about Advent. We forget about the dark period of four weeks which lead us to the joy of Christmas. But, isn’t this much like life? Don’t we typically want to rush through the uncomfortable parts of life to get to the happy and joyful parts? The truth is – we need Advent. We need time to sit in the darkness of life. We need to remember that Christmas isn’t just about a cute little baby born in picturesque crèche scene; it’s about a broken world in desperate need for a Savior. A place so filled with hurt and sin that the Creator of the Universe needed to break into humanity to bring us back into relationship with Him.
We need Advent. We need to grieve the loss of loved ones who have left this earth during the last 12 months – who will not be with us for this first Christmas. We need to feel sorrow for the sickness that abounds in the bodies of those we know and maybe even ourselves. We need to experiences the emptiness of a broken relationship, a family member estranged, a divide among friends. We need to feel the disappointment of unexpected financial situations, unfulfilling careers, and overextended commitments.
When we jump from Christ the King Sunday right into the season of Christmas, we do not allow ourselves the time we need to long for this coming King. This advent season, I wish you boldness to embrace your brokenness – to sit with it and call it by name. For by acknowledging the places where only God can enter and heal us, we acknowledge the need for a Savior. And only then will we ever understand the true joy of Christmas.
