Christmas? Advent?

What do I mean by Advent? What does Christmas mean to me?

To start with, Christmas is about Christ coming to us. One of His names is Emmanuel, "God has come to be with us".

In Colossians it says, "It was the Father's good pleasure (joy) for all fullness to dwell (live) in Him (Jesus)". So all the fullness of God came to abide with us, in the form of Jesus, because joy. 

In John, Jesus goes on to say that when we invite Him to abide in our hearts and lives, then our hearts and lives abide in Him, and He says it "so that His joy would be in us, so that our joy would be full." 

So right away we see that Christmas is all about joy, fullness, and togetherness.

These are things we feel an aching need for in our day to day lives, but especially in a year like this, where the whole world around us is groaning. The Romans passage says "all creation groans as if in childbirth... waiting for sonship" and so we are: aching as one waiting for the birth of a Son. 

So we come to those words, so commonly heard at Advent: watching and waiting. But let me invite you into a more active role here. I read recently how seeking after happiness you don't have is a negative experience, while accepting grief is a positive one. It sounds a little odd, but follow me here: I am not inviting you to resist or subdue your pain, or to strive achingly toward a joy you don't feel. I am asking you to accept the real griefs you find yourself under, and to actively step into expectation and hope.

First, we remember that our Advent is not like the time before Christ came. They didn't know when the Messiah would come, or how he would dwell among us. They didn't know Jesus, like we can; or hold his teachings in their hands; or know how His people would spread across the whole world.

And so even as we pause to remember that time before: the prophecies leading up, the mounting anticipation... even as we sit in the ache we still carry, the prophecies yet to be fulfilled, and all those tears yet to be dried.... we are going to remember that the battle is won. We are going to remember Jesus' open hands and his gentle words: "I call you friends, not servants. You are brothers to me. Come closer, sister. We are family. You belong here, by my side."

Advent for us is full of Christmas. Glowing with the joy and fullness that is God-come-to-us. Don't wait to let the comfort of His coming soothe your soul and renew your strength. 

Watching and waiting for the Kingdom is all about the now and the not yet. We wait for the returning Savior, we wait for His Kingdom to be as it should be. We wait for the cessation of war and suffering and brokenness. We wait for heaven and resurrection. 

But we don't wait for a redeemer. He has come for us. We don't wait for belonging. Those arms are open. We don't wait until we're better, or have it figured out. Because He didn't wait. He came as a doctor, and he came for the broken, he came to be near those with shattered hearts, to heal crushed spirits. He came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. So don't wait. Come.

And when life doesn't feel so abundant? That's where the watching comes in. See, the watching isn't just for that far-off fulfillment we are waiting for. It's keeping a weather-eye out all through Advent, and through Christmas, and into the new year, and beyond. We don’t want to miss anything. We are watching for the Kingdom here on earth: to see Emmanuel in the every day: miracles of joy and fullness; abundance, life, togetherness, belonging, a light in a dark place. This is the Spirit of Christmas.

This is Advent. Jesus has come to live with you. To fill your empty,  broken cup. To sit with you until your joy springs up like a new day. This is Christmas. A time to come together in any ways that we can. To be exuberant in our joy, and merry in our gratitude. To enter into the fullness of Christ, echoed in the chaotic abundance of this season.

You belong here. Wherever you find yourself, this season is for you. Pull up a chair and make yourself at home. He did. There's room to rest and room to stretch. Take my hand, it's gonna be a ride.