Hold on...
It was the event we’d waited months - no, years - no, our whole lives - for: Jenna and I were getting married in just moments. I stood on the steps of the church we’d both joined months earlier in preparation for a life of faith and service together as a family, my palms sweating and my knees shaking, ready to get this wedding started. I began to reflect…
Just moments before the guests arrived, it had sprinkled rain all over our outdoor wedding venue. Wonderful friends came through in a pinch and dried the seats just before the first cars pulled up. What an amazing, yet mostly unnoticed, gift that was.
Earlier in the day, Jenna had arrived at the church to begin the process of becoming even more beautiful than usual, a feat I’m not sure is or was possible, but all the same she was there getting herself and her bridesmaids ready for the event. She’d realized she had forgotten her special belt for the wedding dress once she had arrived at the church. A friend from out-of-town was able to stop by the bridal shop and pick up a replacement to borrow and brought it to Jenna at the church in plenty of time for the ceremony. Such an important element of the day, salvaging what could have been a disastrous wardrobe malfunction, happened without a single guest knowing.
As Jenna made her way down the aisle (or sidewalk, as this was an outdoor wedding), toward me, I could not take my eyes off her. Through all the trimmings of fashion, the hair styling and makeup artistically and perfectly applied, the most beautiful girl in the world was walking toward me, wearing those same sweet glasses that accentuated her smile from the first time I’d ever met her. Still, at the reception she would hear countless compliments on her dress, hair, and makeup, but no one ever commented on her glasses.
The crowd had gathered at the reception venue, and they were ready to welcome the newlyweds. As we entered the room, Tom Petty sang everything we had felt for the time in our lives leading up to this day: “The waiting is the hardest part.”
***
For most events in our lives of great consequence, the time leading up to the event seems to stretch and lengthen supernaturally. Our perception is warped by the desire of our heart to experience the event. The time between reality and promise is warped, twisted, stretched…
When Jesus spoke about his return, a time that would come after he’d been handed over and killed, he tells his disciples there would be no forewarning.
“That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (Matthew 24: 39-41, NIV)
The disciples are promised that Jesus will return again in glory to judge the world, but they are also told there would be no way to predict when to expect this return. How frustrating this must have been for the early church. After two millennia, the church has gotten used to waiting on Jesus, but in those early days it must have been hard to sit idly waiting for your friend - your master, your teacher, your God - to return.
Each year, Christians celebrate the season known as Advent, from the latin Adventus, meaning ‘the Coming or Arrival.’ For four weeks preceding Christmas, we decorate, bake, and drag trees into our homes. We gleefully sing songs that wouldn’t pass for bad entertainment the rest of the year. We purchase or craft or make gifts for one another. We prepare the way of the Lord in our own lives, in our homes, in our hearts. We have so many opportunities to be distracted by our busy-ness during this season, but at the heart of all the ‘doing,’ there’s a truth related to our ‘being,’ and that is that we are waiting on Jesus to return.
So, let’s start this Advent off right. Go ahead and center yourself in the idea that the whole season ahead of us is preparing us for the King of Glory to come into our world, our homes, our hearts. Go ahead and picture Jesus coming with the clouds of heaven, descending to judge the world in grace and truth. Go ahead and ready yourself for the One who was worthy to be offered for your sin to be present at your table for Christmas dinner this year. Are you ready? Maybe, when compared to the incomparable idea of Jesus coming to be among us, the waiting isn’t the hardest part.
Until he gets here, throw another log on the fire, and pour yourself another glass of eggnog. I think we might just have time for more cheesy music and cookies.
J.M.D
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