Isaiah 65:17-25
Advent was always about the second coming of Christ. Later, Advent was co-opted by the juggernaut of Christmas, and we began focusing on the first coming. There are, of course, connections between the two, and it should be possible to do both. But invariably, we lose something in the blending. “Why do we pretend it hasn’t happened yet?” Someone asked me that a previous Christmas. “Why do we play-act, instead of just celebrating what has already been done?” That’s the danger of losing the sense of anticipation, of what is still coming into the world. We think it’s all been done. We think the story has ended, and this is what we’ve got. There are a few problems to sort out, but a little more elbow grease, and we’ve got it done. Without this ability to look forward to the fulfillment of the promise, we become a works-righteousness community that feels guilty for not getting everything fixed. We gather week after week to be piled on again and again, more and better. Work harder; do more. We come to be lifted up and relieved of our burdens, but we trudge away from our encounter with God with an even heavier heart. It was as if we met our loving Father, and God wasn’t pleased, so we’ve got to work harder to be worthy of the love we are dying to receive. We’ve given up on looking forward; we’ve lost our grip on faith. We’ve become the Pharisees that Jesus complained were adding to the burdens of others and not lifting a finger to help.