Though custom in times past has restrained the ‘Alleluia!’ at the season of Advent, nevertheless, Advent is properly bathed in the Alleluia every bit as much as the season of Easter. As a priest of the Church I follow her liturgical guidelines and include it in our worship during Advent. And more personally, I appreciate the use of this expression of the joy of God’s people and of our praise and thankfulness toward God during this time of eager anticipation.
The saints of the Church, and indeed of every theistic religion, hold that within every sentient woman, man, or child there exists innately an intuition of the existence of God. Augustine described it as a ‘God-shaped whole in the soul’ that only God could satisfy. The sense of this sense of something, someone, some consciousness and will, who holds dominion over all that is, naturally gives rise to a mix of awe and dread when one goes to considering that this very One is about to arrive here fully present. No buffers, no filters, no mediator, God’s own self is coming in person. You and I can understand how it is that people in ancient times, and people in our own time too, might feel less than compelled to shout the ‘Alleluia’ and more likely want to yell, “Look out!” then run and hide.
Thanks to the providence of our own birth, you and I can look back upon the first coming of Christ Jesus while we look forward to the second, and so not feel that dread that some surely felt in those times before Jesus first arrived. With knowledge of and appreciation for the character of God incarnate, we have the gift of being able to celebrate with joy more than shudder in fear at the coming again of Jesus. The Kingdom, the dominion, the reign, of God has come near indeed is now among us. This is the joyful message that Christ first came to bring. It is the very message of the first Advent itself. Because you and I are now within this Kingdom, because we ourselves are the Kingdom of God, we can look ahead to Christ’s return with eager joy, even if also with just a small bit of trepidation.
With all that bold telling of truth, challenging of hypocrisy, healing of wounds, and forgiving of sins, Christ is coming again. More than a prophet, an activist, an advocate, a peace-maker, the very person of God is coming. This is what makes the second coming a joyful thing. God, whose will none can resist, whom no one can silence or shut down, who will correct all errors, restore all justice, and call all to the Love of God - this God is coming.
And until then, God is here. Even until such time as the boldness of Christ’s return is experienced by all, God is already here. God is most present in our world through God’s people, through us and all whose trust in God is the center of the life. It is responsibility and privilege enough to cause us trepidation, maybe even fear. In this we join our ancestors who in their own way feared Christ coming, even as they also hoped and prayed for Christ to come. Though we wait and watch dear family-in-Christ, as we are called to do, yet God is here in you and me.
Given the economic and global tensions of our time, many of us will continue to fear what the future may bring, while we pray that it will bring God’s change for the benefit of us all. While we wait, both eagerly and cautiously, I pray we also find confidence and peace in the knowledge that God is much nearer in the world that most people are able to believe. As followers of Christ Jesus, we perhaps more than most know that we need Christ to come again into our lives, our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. We know our need for this, our desire for it, to be constant. Not always so acutely aware of the nature of the need, yet our world knows that it needs God to come and come make a difference, and come soon.
We, perhaps more than most, know that God is meeting the need of all of us by meeting us in each of us. As you and I celebrate this season of the coming and coming again of our Savior Jesus Christ, I invite us all to seek a sense of God’s own celebration of Christ having already come, being already here, speaking the truth, calling for integrity, healing, forgiving, correcting error, bringing justice and mercy, and sharing the Love of God for all; a sense of God’s celebration of Christ personal and present in this world through you and me. We are here, and where we are, here is God among us. The age of Christ’s next and new arrival is coming, Alleluia! In the meantime, Christ comes into the world fresh every day in you and me. Alleluia!
God’s Peace.
Jim +
The saints of the Church, and indeed of every theistic religion, hold that within every sentient woman, man, or child there exists innately an intuition of the existence of God. Augustine described it as a ‘God-shaped whole in the soul’ that only God could satisfy. The sense of this sense of something, someone, some consciousness and will, who holds dominion over all that is, naturally gives rise to a mix of awe and dread when one goes to considering that this very One is about to arrive here fully present. No buffers, no filters, no mediator, God’s own self is coming in person. You and I can understand how it is that people in ancient times, and people in our own time too, might feel less than compelled to shout the ‘Alleluia’ and more likely want to yell, “Look out!” then run and hide.
Thanks to the providence of our own birth, you and I can look back upon the first coming of Christ Jesus while we look forward to the second, and so not feel that dread that some surely felt in those times before Jesus first arrived. With knowledge of and appreciation for the character of God incarnate, we have the gift of being able to celebrate with joy more than shudder in fear at the coming again of Jesus. The Kingdom, the dominion, the reign, of God has come near indeed is now among us. This is the joyful message that Christ first came to bring. It is the very message of the first Advent itself. Because you and I are now within this Kingdom, because we ourselves are the Kingdom of God, we can look ahead to Christ’s return with eager joy, even if also with just a small bit of trepidation.
With all that bold telling of truth, challenging of hypocrisy, healing of wounds, and forgiving of sins, Christ is coming again. More than a prophet, an activist, an advocate, a peace-maker, the very person of God is coming. This is what makes the second coming a joyful thing. God, whose will none can resist, whom no one can silence or shut down, who will correct all errors, restore all justice, and call all to the Love of God - this God is coming.
And until then, God is here. Even until such time as the boldness of Christ’s return is experienced by all, God is already here. God is most present in our world through God’s people, through us and all whose trust in God is the center of the life. It is responsibility and privilege enough to cause us trepidation, maybe even fear. In this we join our ancestors who in their own way feared Christ coming, even as they also hoped and prayed for Christ to come. Though we wait and watch dear family-in-Christ, as we are called to do, yet God is here in you and me.
Given the economic and global tensions of our time, many of us will continue to fear what the future may bring, while we pray that it will bring God’s change for the benefit of us all. While we wait, both eagerly and cautiously, I pray we also find confidence and peace in the knowledge that God is much nearer in the world that most people are able to believe. As followers of Christ Jesus, we perhaps more than most know that we need Christ to come again into our lives, our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. We know our need for this, our desire for it, to be constant. Not always so acutely aware of the nature of the need, yet our world knows that it needs God to come and come make a difference, and come soon.
We, perhaps more than most, know that God is meeting the need of all of us by meeting us in each of us. As you and I celebrate this season of the coming and coming again of our Savior Jesus Christ, I invite us all to seek a sense of God’s own celebration of Christ having already come, being already here, speaking the truth, calling for integrity, healing, forgiving, correcting error, bringing justice and mercy, and sharing the Love of God for all; a sense of God’s celebration of Christ personal and present in this world through you and me. We are here, and where we are, here is God among us. The age of Christ’s next and new arrival is coming, Alleluia! In the meantime, Christ comes into the world fresh every day in you and me. Alleluia!
God’s Peace.
Jim +
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