Happy New Year
Loved by God,
This is my absolute favorite time of year. I realize that doesn't make me unique; a lot of people say that around this time. But I'm not actually talking about Christmas. While I do love Christmas, the reason I love this time of year is because of the time that precedes Christmas: Advent. That's what we call the church season that leads up to Christmas.
Advent is a Latin word that means "coming near" or "arrive," and it has everything to do with the gospel. The reason the word advent has everything to do with the gospel can be explained by something that probably takes place almost every day between parents and their kids. A mom or dad will call one of their children to 'Come here!' And how do 9/10 kids respond to that request? "Why? What do you want?" They need a reason and usually a convincing one. A parent might oblige from time to time but most of them simply insist: "Because I said so!" And we can do that because we're the parent.
Every now and then a kid might get courageous and reply with, "You come here!" And while most parents (myself included) don't respond positively to that, there are times when an extremely patient parent might oblige to that, too. You don't have to but you do the traveling and go to your kids. And that is why I love Advent.
Whether we realize it or not, we all long to be with and near God. One of my favorite quotes is from St. Augustine of Hippo who said: "Lord, you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you." We can try to calm our restless hearts with all sorts of things, and we do. We try to find peace and fulfillment, joy and value in money and success and sex and possessions. But none of those will ever calm our hearts. They will remain restless because we were made for something more. Namely, for our Lord who made us.
Because of this, we all long to be with and near the Lord. So who's gonna do the traveling? How will the joining of God and mankind come to be? God could simply say, "Come here!" and wait for us to work our way up to Him. In fact, this is essentially what the law of God demands. You love and honor and serve and obey and fulfill and keep and work. In other words, if you want to be with and near the Lord, then you better expect to do the traveling. And when we fire back, "Why, God?" He needs to offer us little more than, "Because I said so."
But look at God during Advent. This isn't what He says or does. During Advent, we are the ones who repeatedly say, "Come, Lord Jesus!" and He does. He comes so far as to humble Himself to take on human flesh and blood and be born of a Virgin. He comes so far as to humble Himself and become obedient to death, even death on a cross! And He wraps up all the love and forgiveness and peace and pardon He won through His perfect life and innocent death and still comes to us, delivering those gifts through His Word and Sacraments.
What a beautifully powerful and gracious thing. We get to tell the King of heaven and earth: "Come here!" And it is His greatest joy to oblige. He so deeply wants to be with and near us that He's always willing to do the traveling. And that is why I love the season called 'Advent.' He didn't have to; He wants to. Anything to be near you. What an amazingly gentle, kind, and compassionate God we have.
So, here's my invitation to you this Advent season: Come this Sunday. Come every Sunday in Advent. Not because you have to, but because you know Who is coming to bless you at His house. There's no better place to be. Come, Lord Jesus!
In Christ,
Pastor Bater