In the middle of October I saw the first Christmas tree in a retail store and smiled. No longer is there waiting for Christmas.

In the church season, Advent invites us to wait and prepare our hearts for the Lord. We hear that the angel Gabriel came to Mary saying, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Mary learned she would become a mother, and the child was the long-awaited Messiah for the Jewish people. Quite a shock for Mary, an ordinary Jewish girl living in Nazareth with her family. The long-suffering Jewish people had been waiting for God’s prophetic word of the promised Messiah for over 400 years. Still, they believed and waited on God. Now the spark of hope was rekindled, the people were remembered by their God. Mary responds in faith.

During Advent we hear the language of scripture – rod of Jesse, a virgin birth, plowshares and pruning hooks – that sounds so strange. The world is singing Christmas carols and we are singing “Come, thou long-expected Jesus…hope of all the earth thou art.” Hope itself sounds absurd.

In her poem “After the Annunciation,” Madeleine L’Engle concurs:

This is the irrational season
when love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason
there’d have been no room for the child.

To embrace the expectant hope, we first ponder the babe in the manger, love born for us. God loved us so much as to send the son for our sakes.

Angel sightings are hard to anticipate these days. Yet, celestial beings are not necessary, for we have the promises from God. We are beloved. God knows us by name and walks beside us each day. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Yes, we can live in this time of anticipation with thanks and hope knowing “hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.” This year during Advent, open us, Lord, to receive the faith, love, and hope once again as we wait, believe, and live for you.

Together on the journey,

Louise