by John Chase, Discipleship Ministry Coordinator

Whoever coined the phrase "Good things come to those who wait" no doubt knew what they were waiting for. Perhaps a souffle to rise, or the first strawberries of the season to ripen. Waiting is not a magic formula. Nor does it necessarily result in goodness. If it did, I suspect our fast-paced, instant culture would be a little more interested in making it a priority.

The season of Advent-the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day-is coming. It is a season of repentance, joy, anticipation, preparation, and waiting.

"Advent" comes from the Latin adventus, which means "coming," or "arrival." In the ancient pagan world, adventus referred to a feast celebrating the once-a-year visit of a divinity to its temple.

The Christian adventus emphasizes two arrivals: the appearance of the Messiah in the flesh, the Christ Child; and the second, future arrival of Christ when He comes to restore all things. We wait here in the middle, the in-between-times.

The people of God have had a long tradition of waiting. During the dark days of exile Jeremiah declared: "The days are surely coming," says the Lord, "when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land" (33:14-16). History is moving in a particular direction-God's direction. And it is full of purpose and promise.

But God is also full of surprises. When the Messiah finally did appear, lowly and despised shepherds heard of it, while the religiously devout slept soundly. Wise men understood, while the priests and scribes scrambled to catch up. Ultimately, Jesus was raised on a wooden cross, in part because he didn't measure up to preconceieved notions about what the Messiah was "supposed" to be doing in the world. In short, when he did show up, most people missed it.

Jesus told his disciples that he'd be back, but with disappointingly vague instruction: "Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming" (Matt 24:42). Consequently, the disciples, as well as Paul, believed it would be soon.

Ten or twenty years later, the eyewitnesses, those who actually knew Jesus, were getting harder to find. Mary, the mother of Jesus was certainly dead by that point: as were Peter and Paul, both having been martyred in Rome. Soon it was people who knew people who had known Jesus who were telling the story. Eventually, someone got the idea that it would be good to start writing some of this down. We call these writings Gospels, and they now stand as witnesses to the waiting.

Still today we hear over and over again that he's coming. In fact, I think Jesus has been "on his way" for so long, that many people no longer believe that he'll actually make it.

The Hebrew word for "wait" is also the word for "hope." We wait and we hope for the promises of God to be fulfilled. But this waiting is a John the Baptist kind of waiting. "In the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord." It is an active waiting, a preparation that involves repentance, forgiveness of sins, seeking justice, and lifting hearts in worship.

The world cannot wait for Christmas. Decorations hit the store shelves as early as October. Before Christmas day rolls around, gifts have been purchased, presented, and sometimes exchanged. Santa has already appeared in the flesh, sometimes even descending from the clouds (albeit in a helicopter). But God keeps us waiting, on tiptoes, like children peeking through frosted windows.

During Advent, we look back and remember the one who appeared mysteriously in the dead of night. And unlike the pagan gods of the ancient adventus, He is Emmanuel. He is "God with us" every moment of every day. He waits with us so that when He does return we won't miss him this time around. Keep awake! We know who we are waiting for, and yes, He is Good. Very Good. Come Lord Jesus!