The purpose of Advent is preparation for the coming of the Lord. I love Christmas. However, I believe we shortchange preparation for the Lord’s arrival when we celebrate it early. The cultural practice of starting Christmas the day after Thanksgiving for economic reasons creeps into the church. When we sing “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” one week and “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come” the next, something is missing. The Lord has come but we are unprepared. In Jesus’ parables, the unprepared are cast into the outer darkness. Observing Advent prepares us for the dawn of eternal Light.

The prophet Isaiah says, “Prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3b). I find it remarkable that the Lord asks us to prepare a highway for Him to come. The Almighty and Everlasting God could make His own highway anywhere at any time without us doing a thing. Yet, God desires that we thirst for His presence and long for His coming. Psalm 42:2 is an expression of this longing: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” Our thirsting and longing for the Lord prepares a highway for our God.

Waiting and longing for a future reality can be difficult and seem unnecessary. If you are like me, you want to return to normalcy in our church. You long for the day when you do not have to make reservations to attend or wear masks and maintain a safe physical distance when you are here. The promising news of effective vaccines on the way raises our hopes that we can soon worship more like we did before the virus. Relaxing our protocols prematurely, before the vaccine reduces the risk of transmission, would be careless. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” And so, we wait in hope.

Advent is a waiting period in which we practice daily disciplines of study, prayer, generosity, and service while longing for the coming of the Lord. This active and eager waiting prepares the way in our hearts and schedules for His arrival. These are the necessary disciplines of Advent that prepare us for the coming of Christ.

Jesus was born approximately 2,020 years ago. The act of remembering his birth is more than celebrating his birthday. In Greek, the word anamnesis means recalling the past to transform the present. The event being remembered is brought into and transforms present reality. Christ is born anew in us and among us at Christmas. During Advent, we are also waiting and longing for the Second Coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom. The paradox of Advent is that Christ is both with us and is coming soon. Advent magnifies what some have called “the already but not yet” of the Kingdom of God. His Kingdom was inaugurated at Jesus’ birth and will culminate when He returns.

What this says to me is that keeping Advent does not have to be a time of austerity, of doing without. You are not required to deny yourself candy canes and Christmas carols until Christmas Eve. Rather, Advent is our intentional practice of anticipating and yet holding back until the Day of His birth. Isaiah 40:3 declares, “But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Waiting is necessary preparation for celebrating with authentic joy the coming of the Lord.

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