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"Overwhelming" is a good word for our times. Whether in the face of the endless partisan quagmire that clogs the gears of effective governance, or the climate catastrophe facing the planet, or the virus with its multiple knock-on effects for every aspect of our daily lives – our desire to be rescued in the face of overwhelm has never been stronger.

Advent is a time that refocuses our attention on the experience of waiting. Obviously our waiting is for Christmas Day, whatever this day means to us. Yet the Christian tradition calls us to pay attention to the experience of waiting itself, that is waiting without our minds being clouded by distraction. When we wait with no distraction we discover that waiting can be a bit disconcerting because it conjures up our fear of helplessness.

On Advent Sunday, I noted Third Isaiah’s anguished cry: O God when will you tear open the heavens and come down? In other words, why God are we still waiting for your promises to be fulfilled? The exiles had returned from Babylon, yet the pall of exile still hung low over their society. The rebuilding of the nation was slow in coming as the materials and labor needed for the task were syphoned off by the wealthy who, with indecent haste, rebuilt their palaces and fine cedar houses while Jerusalem’s walls and temple still lay in ruins. We know well the experience of living in a society where a lack of regulation results in the wealthy profiteering as the fabric of society crumbles. This situation has dire consequences for ordinary people who cry out for rescue in desperation and anger.

Advent’s theme of waiting can give us the wrong idea: encouraging rescue fantasies, directing hopes toward mistaken expectations. The point of Advent is waiting for the Incarnation of God in the birth of the infant Jesus. The Incarnation is the Creator’s self-emptying into human life, the Creator no longer outside creation, but now dwelling within the tent of creation itself. In the birth of the infant Jesus, Christians see the fulfilment of an earlier prophecy we know as First Isaiah. Writing some 200 years prior to Third Isaiah, First Isaiah anticipates God’s arrival, not as an all-powerful rescuer, but as Emmanu-El, God is with us. 

While we raise our eyes heavenward, waiting for divine rescue, we miss the fact that God is already here among us, journeying alongside us in our travail. One might even say that it is because Emmanuel is journeying with us that we find the courage to hope and the energy to redouble our efforts in working for the world to become a better place than it currently is. 

It’s a mistake to think we are waiting for God to come down and rescue us from this mess. A better expectation is to welcome the God who has come to be with us, becoming collaborators with God in the divine work of cleaning up the mess.

Be safe and stay sane,

Mark+

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The ‘Our Hearts Are Open’ Advent Project is wrapping up. We continue to be awed by the generosity and care in our community. We are still waiting for a few gifts to be delivered, so please bring your wrapped and labeled gifts to the church during office hours or on Sunday morning, December 13th.

For last minute drop-offs, call Susan! 401-474-2001

This Advent we unite in prayer with expectation:

As the seasons turn and the light changes, we pray:

In a time of widespread illness, we pray for all those touched by Covid-19:

We pray together for the dawning of a bright new day - in our world, in our nation, in our community, and in ourselves.