And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,

 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” — Luke 1:46-48

There’s a tension lurking underneath the surface of our celebrations of Christmas each year.  It’s one of those things that can be easy to overlook, but once you see it, it’s really hard to unsee it.  In the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we celebrate the fulfillment of all of the prophecies in the Bible that speak to the redemption of all of humanity and creation.  Over the course of this month, we will sing of joy, while many are filled with sorrow and struggle with depression.  We sing of peace, while wars rage around the world and in our hearts.  We sing of love, and yet are surrounded by so much hate.  We sing of hope, but wonder, deep down, if anything will ever change.  Wasn’t Jesus supposed to change all of this?

Consider Mary’s song of joy of what God has already done in The Magnificat: “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.” (Luke 1:51-53)  I look around the world today, and I see a lot of proud and mighty people still boasting.  I see those of humble estate still struggling.  The hungry are still starving; the rich are still hoarding.  We know Jesus accomplished these things, because the Bible is very clear that He did, but why is there still so much suffering and injustice, sin and brokenness?  It is the season of Advent that helps provide an answer.

In her magnificent book, Advent: The Once & Future Coming of Jesus Christ, Fleming Rutledge writes, 

Karl Barth exclaimed, “What other time or season can or will the Church ever have but that of Advent!”  This illuminates the present dimension of the season. It locates us correctly with relation to the first and second comings of Christ. Advent calls for a life lived on the edge, so to speak, all the time, shaped by the cross not only on Good Friday but wherever and whenever we are, proclaiming his death to be the turn of the ages “until he comes” (I Cor. 11:26)… In a very real sense, the Christian community lives in Advent all the time. It can well be called the Time Between, because the people of God live in the time between the first coming of Christ, incognito in the stable in Bethlehem, and his second coming, in glory, to judge the living and the dead. In the Time Between, “our lives are hidden with Christ in God; when Christ who is our life appears, then we also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:3–4). Advent contains within itself the crucial balance of the now and the not-yet that our faith requires. (Pg 7)

Everything the Bible says about what Jesus accomplished in His incarnation is absolutely true.  God is now with us in Jesus Christ.  The power of sin and death has been broken.  The proud have been brought down and the humble lifted up.  Prisoners freed.  The blind given sight.  The lost found.  The broken soul made whole.  And yet.  And yet, all of these things are also yet to be completed.  As Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)  Jesus has absolutely accomplished all of these things, but He has not yet completed all of these things.  Advent is the season that reminds us of this tension and invites us into it.  It is the season of, as Rutledge said, “the Time Between.”  

When Jesus returns, the Kingdom of God will finally be consummated.  The work begun with His first coming will be completed.  That which has happened now in part will then be completed in full.  It is the season of Advent that keeps our focus and our hope on that great and wonderful day.  Advent doesn’t merely acknowledge the tension of the already/not yet, it embraces it.  Just as in the incarnation our Savior came to earth and met us where we are, the season of Advent reminds us that He is still doing the same today, and that one day He will finish what He started.  

This Advent, we’ll take a look at how each of the Gospels tell the story of the birth of our Savior (except for Mark, who doesn’t include a birth narrative), and how each points us to His return.  We’ll begin our Advent celebration with a service of prayer, scripture and song, using Mary’s Magnificat as our guide to prepare our hearts and our souls to worship deeply and well this holiday season.  As you prepare for and celebrate the birth of our Savior, keep your eyes focused on His return.  Joy to the world, the King is coming!

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Cor. 13:9-12)

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison