FOOD FOR THOUGHT
(12/06/2009)
Advent
Minister David Carter
“Advent”
is an incredibly cool word. Sure, it simply means “arrival”
or “coming into view,” but the term “advent” just feels denser,
weightier, more impressive. I suppose one could make a case for
“commencement” or “onset” also being weighty but those words can't
hold a candle to “advent.” I'm not sure why I like the word
so much; it doesn't get much usage today. You won't hear someone
say, “I'm waiting for the advent of my child” or “The advent of
my package from Amazon made my day.” Perhaps it is because we
generally use the word in the phrase “Advent of the Christ” that I
have such a special place for this word. When you use it that way,
suddenly the weight of that word is revealed: the Advent of the
Christ; the arrival of God, in the flesh, as Jesus; the appearance
of the Savior of all creation; the coming into place of God's plan for
salvation. Advent… It's something generations waited for,
hoped for, died for. Now that we live in a time post-Advent, we
remind ourselves of the weight of what happened those many years ago as
we celebrate Advent together. In three weeks we celebrate
the arrival of the immortal in mortal form so that we might be reconciled
to God. That's worth remembering; it's worth celebrating.
Take some time this week to reflect on Advent.
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