Advent Waiting

A Church article with View Comments posted 1 December 2009.
Tags: advent, composition, Music, newsletter, waiting

This article ran in the December 2009 issue of The Messenger, the newsletter of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sterling, IL.

As you read this, we have entered the season of Advent and the time in the church year where we wait with expectation for the birth of Christ at Christmas. I don’t know about you, but waiting doesn’t come naturally to me. I want things done, done right, and done right now. The idea of waiting stirs up for me notions of impatient foot tapping and watch glancing. Most of us don’t wait because we want to wait, but instead because we have to wait. We don’t choose waiting, waiting is chosen for us.

The Christmas stories overflow with waiting. Zechariah and Elizabeth wait for a child, even though they were both getting on in years. When they conceive John the Baptist, Elizabeth waits five months until it’s obvious to everyone she is telling the truth before announcing her pregnancy to her family and community. Mary takes the message of the shepherds and waits to spread it, pondering it in her heart. Simeon and Anna in the temple wait all their lives for the salvation of Israel, until Jesus is presented in the temple.

What are you waiting for? Are you waiting in the checkout line at the store, buying that last Christmas present? Are you waiting for the last batch of cookies to come out of the oven? Are you waiting for friends or family to arrive from far away?

While we are in this season of hurry, instant gratification, busyness, and “more,” consider what it means to wait expectantly. Join us in worship on these Sundays in Advent as we wait for the only One who really matters: Jesus Christ.

Looking forward this month, I am excited about the service of Advent petitions coming up on December 16 at 6:30pm, featuring original compositions by myself and Intern Chuck Meyer of Rock Falls Immanuel. I also hope to see many new faces at the Christmas in the Barn service on Christmas Eve, so please use that unique setting as an opportunity to invite friends, neighbors, co-workers, and classmates to join the corner of the communion of saints we call St. John’s.

May God bless you in this season of waiting with the peace that only comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.

- Intern Ted Carnahan