Reflection for the 3rd Week of Advent, 2022
Scriptures: Psalm 146:5-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Key Verse: “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” (Matthew 11:4)
Most of us live a life of anticipation, but the sense of anticipation changes all the time. Do you still remember feeling anticipation when you were young? What do people normally anticipate in life at the age of five? They may anticipate making some good friends. How about at the age of ten? It could be mastering a new skill that they learned. How about at the age of twenty? It could be receiving their first paycheck or attending their dream university. How about at the age of 30, 40 or 50? It could be traveling to places where they haven’t been. How about when they are in their 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s? Probably, having a simple decent meal each day is basic, having a healthy mind, soul, and body is even better, and having a safe and permanent place to be is a great blessing.
Our sense of anticipation can be changed or determined by our age, our health, our values, our sense of purpose, and our living conditions. Since we have no control of all the above, we compromise as we go. As a person of faith, what is your anticipation in life? What are the factors that strengthen or weaken your sense of anticipation? Before answering these two questions, it is helpful to reflect on God’s anticipation for God’s kingdom.
Many Christian faith traditions follow the church calendar and begin each new year with Advent Season. In fact, our anticipation of the coming Messiah is not limited to these four weeks before Christmas but throughout our life. And this is not just our Advent but also God’s Advent.
Like raising a family, God raised a nation to begin with but didn’t stop there. In order to raise a full house of his children, God raised his only Son, through whom all people will be raised to a new life; nothing can separate them from God’s love including death. God anticipates a full house of his children coming together one day.
God’s anticipation of his children living in God’s Shalom is written all over the Bible. God anticipates that all his children are nourished with love, hope, joy, and peace. His children are expected to do everything by grace through faith. When we embrace God’s anticipation as our own anticipation, love, hope, joy, and peace are our nourishments, and doing everything by grace through faith is also our expectation. God’s Advent is our Advent, and it is not the other way around. Keeping this in mind, the sense of our anticipation for the coming Messiah and the fulfillment of God should be strengthened. Thanks be to God.
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