3 Dec Advent: A Season of Waiting and Preparing

ADVENT: A SEASON OF WAITING AND PREPARING

6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting

Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Great will be his authority, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of

David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Advent is a season that Christians all over the world celebrate with joy and hope. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, or the closest Sunday to November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve. The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming or arrival”, which is the translation of the Greek word parousia, which we commonly use in relation to the second coming of Jesus Christ. As we enter the season and prepare to celebrate Christmas, we remember that this season provides us with two opportunities.

First, Advent gives us an opportunity to share in the ancient longing and expectation for the coming of Messiah. God promised the people of Israel about the coming of a

Messiah on numerous occasions through Isaiah, Jerimiah, and other prophets. One such promise was made through Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6-7 which was 700 years before Jesus’ coming. In the midst of captivity, oppression, occupation, peacelessness and chaos, they have waited 700 years in anticipation for a Prince of Peace who would provide everlasting peace and deliver them from oppression by bringing justice and righteousness. We were not there during Israel’s waiting for the coming Messiah. However, as we wait for Christmas today, we participate in ancient Israel’s longing for a Messiah.

Second, it provides us with an opportunity to be alert and to be prepared for His Second Coming, parousia trusting in the promises of Christ and waiting for the ultimate deliverance. The advent season is not only about anticipation but also about preparation. It is an individual as well as communal preparation for the second coming of Christ. Our context is not so much different from that of the people of Israel. The global society today has been faced with numerous threats to life. Rising wars, conflicts and occupations, rising sea levels and natural calamities, deepening social, political, and religious polarizations, increasing number of diseases and pandemics, etc., are threatening life on this earth. In the midst of all these threats to life, we remember the promise of Christ that he would come again and take us to live with God (John 14:1-3), and we need to be prepared for that day (Matthew 24:42-44). This season of Advent, therefore, reminds us that while we celebrate Christ’s coming, we also need to diligently prepare for his second coming asking God, Maranatha!

prayer

Come, Lord, the Prince of Peace, to give peace in this world of peacelessness. Come Christ the anointed king, to bring justice and righteousness into this world of corruption and exploitation. Come Jesus, the Saviour, to save us and the entire universe from all threats of life. May your Advent bring us joy, peace, and eternal salvation. Amen!

for further thought

As we prepare for the Advent (coming) of Christ, what do we need to do to welcome Christ to our communities and families?

Joshua Tadikonda

CSI Krishna-Godavari Diocese