And so we wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.
For almost 2,000 years we have waited for the return of Jesus Christ and the new creation, the restored Jerusalem that has been promised. Our reading from Revelation today hardly helps. “The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Did we miss it? Has it come and gone? Was there so little to it that it slipped right past us?
No, we haven’t missed it. We’ll know when it gets here. But while we are waiting there is much to be done. The work of the coming reign of God beckons us. The Spirit of God cajoles us. The sacrificial love of Jesus inspires us. The needs of our world confront us. To believe in God through Jesus Christ is to accept the challenges at hand and to let God take care of the timing. Advent is a season of waiting, and too often we let it end on Christmas Day. May we instead let the work of waiting go on so that lives may be enriched and hearts opened here and now. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Now let’s keep busy. By the grace of God there’s a lot to be done.
Prayer: God of all goodness, help us to see through our own expectations and assumptions to the glory of your coming reign, and help us to be about your work in the world. In the name of the one whom we await, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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