the Advent of our Lord

I remember a movie from my youth "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!".  It was amusing but one might want to wonder if amusing was the appropriate approach in an era of serious nuclear threat.........none the less, it is what I think of when we talk about the Coming of Christ.

Jesus is Coming!  Jesus is Coming! and of course everyone (well, everyone who even thinks about these things) thinks we are talking about the approaching celebration of Jesus' birth on December 25th - that benign holy day when a baby was born.  We stop - after an insane month of craziness - and look with wonder or sentiment or sometimes boredom at a newborn.  We are always touched by a newborn.  It's life in its purest form.

Then we move on.  By December 27th many houses have been stripped of any sign of the Christ child's coming.  It's over.....for another year.

So Jesus just keeps coming, year after year.  Because the birth of the incarnate God does not mark the end of this coming, it marks the beginning.  The birth of the Son of God marks the beginning of a new way of living, a new kingdom of life.  Life lived now; life lived later.  Life - living - ongoing - transformative.  Jesus just keeps coming and coming into our lives and into our world.  Jesus just keeps coming into every corner of our todays and tomorrows.  Jesus just keeps coming.

Advent is a time to prepare for the annual celebration of Jesus' birth.  It is a time when you and Jesus together remember the bountiful gifts of life already received and given.  It is a time when you and Jesus together focus on the power of Christ's presence in this world.  It is a spiritual time that involves serving and working in Christ's name.