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"Homesick"
This Sunday, we enter into the season of Advent... the beginning of a new cycle in the Christian church's worship life, and a season during which we prepare for the coming of Christ. Even as we make ready for the baby to be born in Bethlehem (what we celebrate during the Christmas season that begins on Christmas Eve), our focus during Advent also takes us beyond the birth and even beyond the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus… to a new moment of expectancy as the "day of the Lord" approaches and we look for the coming again of Christ. In other words, in Advent we orient ourselves toward the coming of Christ in history, mystery, and majesty: the baby of Bethlehem, the glimpses of Christ's presence in our midst now, and the coming again of Christ in glory at the end of all times.
As we begin Advent with Jesus speaking in Luke 21 about fear and foreboding and all we know passing away—a part of the gospel story known as the “Little Apocalypse”—we remember how far from “home” we are. The world is not as it should be. Many have lost their physical homes, many feel alone, and many are isolated. Many of us feel as if we are wandering with no clear way forward. This first week speaks to our deep longing—for our “home” to be made whole, made right, and made well. With deep longing, we watch for God. Thankfully, God enters a homesick world.