3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Have you ever said something like this? “When will he get here?” “Where is she?” “I have been waiting forever for them to arrive!” “Ugh. They are always late. They have no sense of time!”
The Church says similar things in regard to Jesus. She says, “When will He get here?” “Where is He?” “We have been waiting 2,000 years for Him to come!” “Ugh. His sense of time is different than ours.”
The season of Advent is a season of hope and anticipation. In fact, the very name of the season, Advent, means “coming.” That is appropriate because that is what Advent is all about: Jesus’ various comings. Jesus is coming, has come, and will come again. This fact will be the focus of our Advent midweek services. Each week, we will look at a different aspect of Jesus’ coming.
On week one, we will look at how Jesus will come again. Jesus has promised to return, and He always keeps His word and promise. We wait with eager expectation for that day.
For week two, we will look at how Jesus comes to us now. Jesus’ coming isn’t restrained to just the future, or past. He comes to us now through the Word that is read, spoken, and preached. He comes to us through the Sacraments of baptism (where we are united with Him in His death and resurrection, and put Him on) and communion (where He comes to us with His body and blood that won us salvation in, with, and under the bread and wine).
For week three, we will look at how Jesus has come. He was born for us in Bethlehem. He toiled in obscurity for 30 years. He did His ministry for three years, and He died, rose again, and ascended for you and me. Jesus has come, and He has saved us.
As we go through the season of Advent, my hope and prayer is that you are able to see how Jesus came for you at His first coming, how He comes to us now through Word and Sacrament, and how He will come again.
Pastor Nick Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XXV, Number 5, December 2023.)