Today we turned our focus toward advent. “ In the beginning was the Word”. We saw how Jesus was around from the
beginning and how the plan for him to come in human form is implied even in the
Garden of Eden. We looked at the above passage
from the beginning of John, and also at Genesis, Isaiah, Micah and
Malachi. Prophecies can be found
throughout the Bible, showing us the broader picture of Jesus’ coming, calling
God’s people to be patient, trust and hope.
We recognized often quoted prophecies –Heard strains of the Messiah run
through our heads at various point - but were interested to hear them in
context. Many of these words of hope
were not given to a congregation awaiting God’s leading – but as part of a
prophet’s advice or even admonitions to Kings or nations on how to deal with
enemies – or on how they were messing up.
Some of the prophecies were a kind of double prophecy – having a
fulfilment in that time as well as hundreds of years later. It was never quite as simple or
straightforward as it seems in many of our advent services.
One interesting thing
is that, when you see them in context, you can understand how people missed these
messages. We are used to hearing these
passages in Advent & Christmas services where they seem so beautiful and so
obviously pointing to the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, – but when the prophets first spoke these words they were surrounded by
admonitions and warnings. Some were spoken to wayward or confused kings
and leaders. Not all of them were understood to foretell the coming of the
Messiah. Some were just slipped into a
whole bunch of other advice. In the midst of trying times, many of them while
the threat of the Assyrian army loomed over Judah, glimmers of hope were
injected. It makes we wonder what we are
missing now. Are we open to God’s
leading, God’s giving us words of hope in the midst of whatever decisions we
are making? Is God trying to show us that “All things [will] work together for
good” (Romans 8:28) Are we listening?
Our discussion ranged from talk of how we would feel if one
of our children became a prophet, to how we feel about our own futures. We spoke of difficult times we had endured,
and of concerns for friends currently experiencing health crises. We spoke of partisan politics in our nation
and that of our neighbor, and of decision making within our congregation. It is so hard to do the right thing. Whether it is selecting for whom to vote or
for deciding whether to speak at a meeting and, if so, what to say or figuring
out how to help when you really can’t make a big difference or supporting our
kids – it is hard to know what to do.
How can we spread the love and nurture God has given us? How can we best follow God’s will? How can we best help our children learn to
listen for God’s guidance and follow it? I guess we came up with more questions than
answers.
The one answer we have is prayer. As we read of a coming miracle and talked of
a seemingly miraculous healing and hoped for more help and healing we realized
we have to give up our confusion, our worries, even our loved ones, to God. In giving up and trusting we can experience God’s
wonders. We can relax and enjoy the
blessings we are receiving, even while enduring the trials. Like so many others, we have to wait for God
to act – and trust that God WILL act, even if not in the time or the way we
would prefer. God will act. God is
coming. We just have to wait, trust, and hope.
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