Christmas Always Comes
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The beginning of a new season in the
church year. The beginning of a
new year.
Advent has been probably my favorite of all the seasons of
the church year ever since I was young.
It brings with it a feeling of hopeful anticipation.
Advent, of course, is defined as the season before
Christmas. It doesn’t really have
any meaning on its own. We wouldn’t
have Advent without Christmas. The
whole point of Advent is that Christmas lies ahead. Today we light one candle
on the Advent wreath. We will
light the second, then the third, then all four candles. We are on a journey that leads to
Christmas, the birth of Jesus.
Christmas will come.
At the end of EVERY Advent.
Certainly this Advent.
Christmas will come.
Christmas will come whether we are “in the spirit” for
Christmas, or not.
Jesus will be born anew in our hearts and lives whether or
not we are ready. Spiritually or
materially.
Emmanuel, God with us will come. Whether we actually feel hopeful and expectant, or not. Either way, he will come. Christmas will come.
Christmas will come regardless of whether people say Merry
Christmas or Happy Holidays in the public sphere. Christmas will come no matter how early the malls start
playing Christmas carols. Jesus
does not need us to say the right words or do the right actions to summon
him…. Or else he will not
come. No, Jesus will come. Christmas will come. It doesn’t depend upon us.
Christmas, Emmanuel, God with us, will even come if we have
not “made him room”. The arrival of Christmas is not dependent upon our preparation. (Although our own experience of
Christmas is certainly richer if we’ve done some preparation, but that’s
another sermon.)
Christmas WILL come.
At the end of every Advent.
The experience of Advent is the promise that Christmas will come.
As I’ve said before each season of the church year teaches
us something about our lives as Christians that is timeless. Although in worship, we experience the
season one after another, each one shows us something that is always true. Advent teaches us that Christmas will
come… God will come to dwell with
us.
Whenever we find ourselves in the dark, or lost, or confused,
we may be confident that Jesus will come to us. It is no accident that the season of Advent falls in the
darkest time of the year. But we
can experience darkness at any time.
And Christmas always lies ahead. Whenever we are seeking or yearning… looking for meaning or
direction... whether it is
this time of year or the height of summer… the promise of Advent will guide us to Christmas, to Jesus. Advent always leads to Christmas.
Advent is often described as a season of hope, and that was
my childhood experience of it. But
we miss the point if we focus too much on our feelings. Advent has not failed if we don’t feel
hopeful. It’s not about our
feelings; it’s about God’s promise. And maybe, it’s also about God’s hope. Not our
hope, but God’s hope.
Christmas will come, because God has hopes for us and for
this world. God will come to be
among us because God has hopes for us.
God will come to bring holiness into our lives to literally show us
God’s love and forgiveness that heal us and make us whole. That is God’s hope for each of us. And Christmas will come because God has
hopes for the transformation of this world. This world in which we live. God has hopes for this world.
