Advent.

Every year about this time (as the old song goes) Advent arrives in the Christian Church.

It is the season leading up to Christmas, just four weeks long. The word “Advent” derives from a Latin word meaning “coming.” Advent is a time spent preparing for a “coming.” For one thing, we prepare for the coming of Christ as a baby, a celebration of what once happened in Bethlehem. In that sense, Advent is a season to get ready for Christmas.

But then there is another “coming” for which Advent prepares us.

The return of Christ and the dawning of God’s Kingdom on earth.

We Christians hold dear the great hope of that Day when all things will be made right – when peace unites all people, when justice prevails, when there is no more hunger, no more war, no more sadness, no more tears, no more death. We look forward to the Day when the prayer “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” becomes no longer a prayer but a living reality and the world rejoices in the goodness of God.

This is the ultimate Hope of all humanity – the wholesome, loving world we’ve always dreamed of.

And every year about this time Advent arrives to remind us.

Advent reminds us who we are.

Advent reminds us Whose we are.

And Advent reminds us WHY we are here.

After a very bitter and divisive election campaign in America, and with wars and devastation raging in so many places around the world, it is good for us to remember these things.

Maybe Advent is just what we need right now to center and redirect our lives.

My prayer for you is that this Advent season will not only be a time to prepare for the Christmas celebration of what happened once long ago in Bethlehem, but also a moment to rededicate yourself to being God’s partner in building the new world of God’s Kingdom.

What will it take for you – and me – to be people like that?

A nice Advent prayer to whisper each day during this Advent season might go something like this:

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…in ME…as it is in heaven!”