[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 08/Dec/2019]
Advent: The Season of Hope and Expectation
It’s hard to believe that we are now just a few weeks away from Christmas! The usual flurry of decorations, lights, cards, present-buying and menu-planning fight for our thoughts and attention, despite that we said we would be ahead of the game this time (well, I did)! Each year I too get caught up in this whirlwind of activity, and my appreciation of the Advent season and the real meaning of Christmas can take backstage instead of centre stage.
But I set out with intentionality this year, to change pace, to grow in my relationship with God, to “listen” more for what he is saying to me, to us, to “see” more of where he is working in my church, my family, my own life, to “enquire” more of His heartbeat for our world, to be “present” more to his presence within and around me. Whether aided by this process I am not sure, but my thoughts seem to be constantly taking me to the Kingdom of God – what does it look like, am I walking in it, do I notice it around me, do I see it in others?
I think we often think of the Kingdom of God as something mainly “to come” or “in the future”. For now, we live in this fallen world but when Christ returns, he will bring the Kingdom with Him – some refer to it as “the now and not yet of the Kingdom of God”. It’s easy to feel like that when we look at our world which, at times, feels like it is imploding under the burden of sin, wars, pain, politics – not to mention our physical planet which is suffering and shrinking under the effects of plastic over-use, global warming, tree deforestation and more. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:22)
And yet we read in Mark’s gospel that “The time has come,” and “the Kingdom of God has come near”. Note the words has come, not is coming! I believe we see or bring the Kingdom each time we help one another, pray for each other, bless people, listen to our God. The Kingdom comes with the birth of a baby, knit together in the Mother’s womb, a miracle in the making. The Kingdom comes when we walk alongside another in their pain, their spiritual journey. The Kingdom comes when we use our voices to stand up for what is right, to support those who don’t have a voice – the poor, the weak, the unborn child, the sick. The Kingdom has come in the heart and spirit of every Christian, and everywhere we go, we take the Kingdom with us. Romans 14:17 says “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit …”
As we journey through ‘Adventus’, which means ‘come’, let us pray “Maranatha” which means ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. As we do this and our prayers rise to heaven, we invite the Kingdom to come more and more. And let us not forget that, to Jesus’ disciples (us), He has not only come, but He stayed and dwells permanently in our hearts. The Kingdom of God is that near!
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Contributed by Lesley Edwards; © the Author
