- Image by samu.zamu via Flickr
Everyone’s waiting for something.
What are you waiting for?
Some things are full of expectancy: the last hour of the last day of school before summer break, the last day of work before you hop in the car and drive home for Christmas, and even the final few uncomfortable weeks before the birth of a child (that’s what we’re waiting for right now).
Pastor Dan @ Faith reminded all of us at worship this past weekend that waiting for Jesus to come can be a confusing thing (hear the audio here). Our Christmas celebrations bring out the best in us, as we spend time with each other, donate money & gifts, and are filled with a generic Christmas ‘cheer’. But in the midst of all of this, brutal wars all over the globe remain. 8000 people die from AIDS each day. Thousands of people are losing their jobs each month just in the US.
What is there really to celebrate about?
I guess that it matters what you’re waiting for. If you’re waiting for a ‘Happy Holidays’ filled with lots of shopping and parties and Santa and good will toward men then you will be disappointed. Not the gifts or the fun times or a positive outlook or especially Santa can change the evil that always tempers our Holiday celebrations. Orphaned children with AIDS are still going to suffer while you’re out shopping.
But if you’re waiting for a ‘Merry Christmas’ filled with the love of a savior who was born to change the world by defeating evil, then you won’t be disappointed. In fact, waiting for Jesus changes our whole Holiday/Christmas experience. Giving gifts to one another reminds us of the gift of life Jesus won for us. Going to Christmas parties is an opportunity to reconnect with people and deepen loving relationships. Yes, orphaned children with AIDS will still suffer and die at the hands of that cruel disease, but if you’re waiting for Jesus, there is a sure hope that he will come again to set the world right once and for all. Justice, peace, and love flow from him even now, but much more fully in the future!
What am I waiting for? I’m waiting for the day that I don’t have to write ‘orphaned children with AIDS are going to die today’. My only hope for that is for Jesus to return and gather all his children into his arms. So I wait, expectantly!
Tags: Advent, evil, faith, jesus, Merry Christmas, relationship, Worship