Welcome to Advent!

Welcome to the waiting room of Advent, where the people of God gather in time and space to prepare for the Birth of Christ.

I suppose that bystanders who wonder why we practice Advent could conclude that we "do" this as a sort of sentimental commemoration of the approach of the Christmas miracle. After all, we will be spending time each day reading the same lessons that we read three years ago (following the lectionary) and singing the same Advent Hymns that we sing every year (there aren't that many from which to choose...are there?)

I suppose some will walk by Advent as though they are passing through a hallway in a hospital ... looking casually through the glassed wall of some waiting room at the people within who are forced to do nothing other than wait for the "news". The passersby may recall some time when they themselves were subjected to a waiting room ... and be glad that this year they can just get on with getting on!

Please don't walk by the waiting room. Come in... There's more going on than meets the eye. It is a place where the heart and mind can patiently ponder the depth of God's promises. It is a time when each one of us can safely visit the barren and lonely places of our lives and watch for tiny shoots of divine hope beginning to sprout.

In the days that follow, I will offer some thoughts from the CRLC 2009 Advent Devotional...interspersed with whatever emerges from my own prayers.

I look forward to this month of Advent with wonder and prayerful anticipation.... Welcome! Come, Lord Jesus.