Advent

Waiting with Anticipation

Queues! They’re everywhere this time of year. There is a line of traffic to get into the parking lot to do our Christmas shopping, and a line of people to make our purchases before we leave. Children wait in line to see Santa, and we wait longer than usual to treat ourselves to that special holiday latte. In our 21st century celebration of Christmas, we get a lot of practice in waiting.

In a strange way all of this waiting fits the Christian calendar. The Church sets aside the four weeks before Christmas as a time to prepare for the coming of our long-expected Messiah. This season called Advent is an opportunity to focus on how God came to us in history in the person of Jesus, comes to us in the present, and will come again in the future.

In December 1745, Charles Wesley published a two-verse prayer in Hymns for the Nativity of our Lord that helps us enter into the season of Advent. “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” appears in the United Methodist Hymnal with only minor changes from the original.

Come

As we sing Wesley’s words, we enter into an ancient prayer. For hundreds of years, our ancestors in the faith prayed for the Messiah to come. God had blessed them to be a blessing to all the nations (Genesis 12:1-3), but it was difficult to feel blessed in the pain of defeat, exile, and occupation. They longed for the Messiah to come and reestablish the kingdom.

We understand those feelings of distance from God. While we have experienced times when God feels near, there are others seasons of struggle and doubt. Some of us have spent time wondering if God is still with us. So, we join this prayer today, “Come, thou long-expected Jesus.”

We also know this on a much larger scale. We see the brokenness of our world and its systems. We long for justice for all people regardless of race, colour, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. We await the day when Jesus will return to usher in the new creation and heal our broken world. We join this prayer for our future also, “Come, thou long-expected Jesus.”

As we keep singing, Charles Wesley continues to lead us in a prayer for liberation. For Wesley, Jesus was born for this purpose.

Come, thou long expected Jesus,

born to set thy people free;

from our fears and sins release us,

let us find our rest in thee.

Israel's strength and consolation,

hope of all the earth thou art;

dear desire of every nation,

joy of every longing heart.

2. Born thy people to deliver,

born a child and yet a King,

born to reign in us forever,

now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal spirit

rule in all our hearts alone;

by thine all sufficient merit,

raise us to thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley