Come!
This word is in many ways the clarion call for Advent.
Come!
It resounds in hymns…
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel…
It is heard in the liturgy…
The Lord is coming, run out then shouting:
Greatest of all, rule forever!
Our strong God, our prince of peace, alleluia!
It is heard in the promise…
Behold, I am coming soon.
- Revelation 22:7
We hear this over and over and over again through Advent. We look for the coming of Christ (another
C word, which I’m delaying until the letter
X – keep
coming back to learn why!). We look for the coming of the season. We look for the coming of the new age, the messianic time, the kingdom of God. We look for something to come.
Are we prepared? When we invite friends over, usually we are prepared because we are expecting their arrival. When they
come, they find a welcome. That is precisely what Advent is about – preparation for the arrival. We don’t always know when – sometimes friends drop in unexpectedly. Are we ready? Sometimes events in life occur when we don’t want them to – are we ready?
As a Shaker hymn reflects:
Awake, my soul, arise and shake,
No time to ever ponder,
Keep awake, keep awake,
Lest ye be rent asunder.
Few things are as jarring as being caught unprepared, or unaware. But
Night is drawing nigh – how long the road is. But, for all the time the journey has already taken, how you have needed every second of it in order to learn what the road passes-by.
Our whole life is in preparation. Preparation of the coming of grace into our lives. Christmas (another
C word!) is a symbol of that
coming for Christians (another
C word!). It is up to us to realise what is about to happen, not just once, but all through our lives, and be prepared when the time
comes.
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming.
- Joel 2:1
I shall post a brief meditation each day, following an acrostic method (A for the first day, B for the second, and so forth) for each day of Advent. I hope you'll join me as I work through various feelings and thoughts this Advent season.
C is for Come (Advent Series) 
Linear Mode
