THE CRY OF ADVENT

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  (Isaiah 9:2 & 6 NIV)

Christmas is the time of year when everything is amplified -- the joys and sorrows, the celebration and grief, the gift of community and the pain of isolation. That’s why it is so important to be mindful of Advent. It is a time for keeping watch in the darkness, for naming the anguish of waiting, and for pressing forward with hope, even when everything seems bleak and desolate.

Name your longings to God. Offer the cry of your heart, the ways you are waiting for light to dawn in the darkness. Ask God for the courage to wait and hope.

It is the cry of Advent -- the cry for Jesus to come and save and rescue and redeem, the cry for Jesus to come as Light and Life, to come and enter the dark chaos of the world and shine like the dawn upon all who walked in the shadow of fear and despair and death. It is the cry of Advent, the cry for Jesus to come.

-- Adapted from “Shades of Light” by Sharon Garlough Brown


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