Advent Hope

I love Derek the Cleric. Here is a picture of expectation...

I am in the middle of Advent Sunday worship. This morning we had a lovely Advent Carol Service with communion in one of my churches, including exploring with the children who is coming "Santa Claus!" and what today might be called "Palm Sunday"! I am about to go and try something new for my churches, an Advent Taize Service in candlelight and I am looking forward to that very much after a difficult week of issues and stuff racing around my head. 

I often ponder why we don’t do Advent very well in the church. We rush on to Christmas, trees and decorations are up in two of my churches already and it’s a bit early. These weeks of Advent are as important for us to prepare as it was for those people in Asda on Friday, I think, trampling on people to get a bargain on "Black Friday".

Perhaps we don’t want to think, perhaps we are so busy worrying about the church that we have forgotten why we are the church at all, and perhaps we have forgotten to celebrate the enormity of God’s ways. This season is about God doing something. 

Perhaps we have forgotten his amazing grace, and so he comes and we don’t notice and we don’t even look, and more seriously perhaps we don’t even expect any more. The same Christmas decorations come out, we put them in the same place as every year, we do Christmas to a script and we expect no surprises. Or – we panic when things go a bit haywire in life and we think we can’t cope.

God is a God of promise and he never leaves us or forsakes us. He has all things under control. His story is clear and to the point – he is coming to look out for us despite ourselves, he has a plan for us, he loves us and so we should trust him. But we don’t wait for him to come in his time so we do our own thing because we can do better and we want good things now. We don’t want to wait for a Christmas made in our heart we want to make our own future – today. Like Molly my naughty cat on Friday night. There I was at home watching I’m a Celebrity on the sofa, chilled out. Molly is fed at a set time but she tries to con me that she needs more food inbetween. Last time I went to the vet it was embarrassing because a) Molly bit the vet, and b) I was told off because quote “your cat is a bit fat.” So, she has to wait for set meal times. I was dozing off when suddenly this little field mouse came scuttling past me on the floor followed by a cat – I want to do my own thing, I want it now. She didn’t understand when I grabbed it by the tail and we had a funeral as it soon died of fright. We have to wait for God in God’s own time, but God will come. That's our faith, anyway. And if today though I am tired and I don't get what is doing on around me, I still share it and believe it and know the breaking in of God will come. 

The joy of this season is that you get one service over and you start thinking about the next one. I found this new hymn by Gareth Hill which sums up these next few weeks and what I hope from them, very well. 

We do not look for angel choirs or visions in the sky, but simply pray that peace on earth comes nearer through the Christ child’s birth in Bethlehem for us, in Bethlehem for us.

We do not look for frankincense or wise ones at our door, but simply ask our prayers be heard
and that our restless hearts be stirred by Jesus’ newborn cry, by Jesus’ newborn cry.

We will not rest until we know that God makes all things new; until our search for answered prayer transforms the lives of all who dare to put their trust in you, to put their trust in you.

But still you send us songs of peace and wisdom whispers near.
You call us to the way of Christ, that in our living hope will rise from Bethlehem to here,
from Bethlehem to here.

In the middle of local church issues, demands for carols and readings for three week's time, demands to visit people, sort things out and personal stuff in my life, I need to let God in. I remember a quote a vicar had in a Christmas letter some years ago. A lady had said to him "I hate Christmas. I just want some peace and quiet to hear the angels sing."

Amen to that!