Advent as a time for hospitality...and respect

For the Christian church, Advent is the church year season that began last Sunday, November 27. Liturgically, it is "New Years"--the beginning of the church year. Denominations that hold to the liturgical calendar religiously (sorry...), sing only Advent hymns and refrain from mentioning Christmas, which is its own season. Many of us, though, eschew this rigid liturgical correctness and sneak in a Christmas hymn or two, and let the excitement build toward that season as each week's Advent candle is lit at the beginning of worship. So sinful are we...

Advent's traditional focus is on the "second coming" of Jesus Christ. The word Advent, itself, comes from the Latin, adventus, which is from the Greek, parousia, meaning "end-time things." A majority of evangelical Christians believe that Jesus will return, literally, to the earth and bring about the end of the age. A variety of books (and movies) have been produced on this fantastic subject, and the mere mention of it gets many a believer salivating for more stories about how the good guys get their deliverance and the bad guys get fried at the "end of time." Some folk actually get quite giddy at the thought of Jesus "coming in the clouds" and plucking believers out of the deplorable mire of earthly life. But what if that is not our theological ethos? What do others believe about Advent?

We DO believe it is a season of hope. However, hope here is not the selfish "wish" of individual redemption, but the expectation of God showing up. And not just at the end of time, or to pluck out the "true believers," but showing up to work in partnership with the people of God to help build a global realm of justice and peace for all people. This is the true promise of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit (counselor, helper, gift-giver, one who empowers) came upon the fledgling church to walk with a people committed to redemption for all and a just, abundant life for all of God's people. Advent is a time of believing that God has and will continue to show up via the Spirit of Jesus in the hearts and minds of us all, and lead us to a new promised land where "every mountain and valley shall be made low and the rough places a plain" (the rich humbled and the humble made rich). Hope gives way to peace, joy, and love, practiced by humanity for the common good as well as individual fulfillment.

In essence, we believe Jesus keeps returning, day after day, week after week. We are the initial beneficiaries, but as the blessings and grace come to us, they are passed on through acts of mercy and kindness, justice and peacemaking. Might Jesus actually show up "in the flesh" again? Very possibly, but rather than hold our breath waiting, we are nudged by the light of Advent to act like he's already here, and like we are already "on the clock" regarding the Jewish understanding of tikkun olam--fixing the world.

Hospitality and respect are two key ways we begin to do this. "Welcoming the stranger" as a full-blown member of the community, and respecting all life (but most certainly humans) are sure signs that the Advent of God is happening. If you want to see what the world would look like if Jesus came back, love your neighbor as yourself. Seek relationships with people very different than you, and respect them as if they were your kin. Expect the Spirit to create within you a welcoming persona--an attitude of blessing others because you have, yourself, been blessed.

This is Advent, and this is why it is a season of light in a darker world. Stop the waiting; get with the "doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God."

Oh, and sneak in a couple of upbeat Christmas hymns like "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come" or "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" just to cope with the gray skies and what seems like a creeping fear all around us. Expect God to show up...today...tomorrow...forever. And may you live life like Jesus just moved into your neighborhood. Salaam and Shalom, Yinz!