By James Wilson
About
eighty per cent of the two billion+ Christians in our world observe the four
weeks before Christmas as a season called Advent. The 2014 season begins Sunday, November 30,
and the word itself means beginning – much like Genesis. It is a solemn season in which caring for the
poor and lonely are stressed and readings from Scripture focus on John the
Baptist. John breaks into history sometime
before the Lord goes public. His story
is presented – especially in Mark – as part of the seamless garment of the
Gospel of abundant life in the Kingdom of God.
Mark
begins with, “The beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of
God.” The next two verses quote Isaiah
saying God will send a messenger ahead of Messiah who will – in effect –
prepare His way like paving a highway in the desert for the coming of the
King. (Citizens in ancient times paved a
new highway when their king approached.)
The next verse depicts John preaching a baptism of repentance.
It
cannot be plainer than it is. Repentance
is turning about to face in a new direction.
For those who already know the Lord it is about re-focus of our
attention on the One we once adored; for others it is about gaining that focus
for the first time. Other Gospels share the
things John calls his listeners to do – as the necessary demonstration of that
re-focus – forgiving each other; feeding the hungry and clothing the naked;
carrying others’ burdens an extra mile.
But Jesus Himself makes it clear that repentance is itself the beginning
of the Good News – the privilege of repentance – when He makes His first public
statement. “Repent,” He says, “for the
Kingdom of God is near.” The Greek we
translate as “near” actually means “in pursuit.” The Kingdom and its King are pursuing us; the
privilege of repentance is the privilege of turning to be captured by Him.
As
a Christian steeped in the recurring seasons of the Church year I used to
correct my evangelical brethren when they celebrated the Christmas season
throughout December and let it die on New Year’s Day. “No,” I would say. Advent is December – the time of preparation
– and Christmas-the-season begins on Christmas and runs through Epiphany on January
6. But in light of John’s announcement
of the privilege of repentance my friends seem onto something.
On
the other hand, there is a lot to be said about the traditional view of Advent
as a time of visible repentance-preparation – visible in the sense that we find
ourselves doing good works perhaps neglected earlier in the year as – in this
season – Lord creates a heart of flesh in what has been a heart of stone. This is what the Baptist said. The idea is that throwing a few coins – or
even bills – in the Salvation Army kettle is a good thing; calling friends,
relatives, and even a needy family our church sponsors is as good or
better. But these things can be done as
add-ons, without a change of heart. When
we take seriously the notion of a time or season for re-focus on God we begin
to worship Him in times and places new to us.
He sends our hearts in directions of caring we had not thought of on our
own. We find ourselves caring more
lavishly, and more as a result of His re-shaping our hearts. The horse retakes its rightful place in front
of the cart and we are on more than a moment of generosity; we are on a journey
of becoming the persons we are called to be and everyone we come across
benefits as we do.
This
is not some spiritual sleight of hand as opposed to a pragmatic seeking of
peace and plenty for those who have little of either. It is a simple recognition that the One who
creates, redeems, and resurrects our humanity wants and understands authentic
peace and plenty better than we do. In
the wilderness temptation episode Jesus is tempted to feed the hungry, secure
His authority, and right the world’s wrongs outside relationship to His
Father. He knows such an approach never
ends well. His idea is identical to the
traditional sense of the Advent season – a time of seeking relationship with
God and expecting the abundant-life-fruit-for-all-concerned to follow the
seeking.
Even
an Old Testament grouch like Jeremiah (29:12-14) knows that when we seek Him we
cannot fail to find Him. What if readers
of this blog dedicated the weeks preceding Christmas to that radical
seeking? In this world, as it is today,
what have we got to lose?
James A. Wilson is the author of Living
As Ambassadors of Relationships and The
Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by
e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
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