"Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" is one of my favorite Advent hymns. Between the words and the music (when sung to the beautiful Welsh tune, Hyfrydol), it nearly brings me to tears. The lyrics speak so eloquently of the longing we, as Christians, have for the peace of Christ in our lives. This hymn, like Psalm 27, reminds us that God is our Hope, our Strength, our Joy, and our Redeemer.
In today's reading, King David expresses his confidence that the Lord, our "light and salvation" (v. 1), will deliver God's people because of God's grace and love. Because he trusted God, David was able to "face life without fear despite its very real dangers (v. 2-3)".
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Although they may differ from those of King David, we each have our own "dangers" to face. They are no less real and no less frightening. Whether abuse or abandonment, hunger or homelessness, loss or loneliness, or some other demon, this Psalm reminds us that we can have faith that God is with us through it all.
Yet, Advent reminds us that we still wait with hope for the coming of God's
ultimate
deliverance: eternal life through Jesus' birth, death and resurrection. Psalm 27 encourages us to wait faithfully and to trust in the Lord. Although "success and earthly blessing may not be seen in the moment, nevertheless [we are] able to wait with other believers...precisely because of [our] enduring faith in the goodness of God (v. 13)".
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Ultimately, we have nothing to be afraid of because we know the saving presence of Jesus.
At no time in my life has this been more evident than when my great-aunt, Tante Emmy, was nearing death. I sang hymns for her, hoping to bring some measure of comfort to us both. As I sang this Advent hymn, she lay whispering, "Father, Father", her German accent still evident even after living in the U.S. for 80 of her 96 years. Her faith was clear as she called God to take her home. Her wait was over.
Although we still wait, through Advent and beyond, let us pray with confidence...
