Advent

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
    he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9)

“Advent is a season of the liturgical year observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming.” (Wikipedia)

 In Advent–as in this beautiful passage from Isaiah–tears, hope, and joy live together.

Our faces are covered with tears. But we believe that God himself will wipe these tears away.

Our hearts hurt with shame and disgrace. But we believe that God himself will completely remove this pain.

Our lives are touched by the enfolding shroud of death. But we believe that God himself will swallow up this enemy.

Good news of great joy for all people has arrived.

And so, even as we still weep, we also celebrate. Soon, we will feast and we will sing and we will give gifts. Our Christmas celebrations will not be perfect and pain-free. But through our feasts and songs and gifts, we will declare that we are those who rejoice in the salvation of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. And we will worship this Jesus who someday will wipe away our tears, remove our disgrace, and swallow up death forever. We will feast here with an eye on the great banquet to come, our imperfect gatherings a foretaste of the celebration that will be wonderful beyond anything we can imagine. “This mountain” for Isaiah is Mount Zion, the place where people from around the world will be joyfully gathered.

He has come. He will come again. And on that day, we will be gathered together as gladness and joy overtake us and sorrow and sighing flee away.

Advent is a time of aching with hope. Expectant waiting.

So let us sing, even if we’re weeping at the same time. Let us trust in him. Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation. Together.

P.S. The day after posting this, I read this quote, from a sermon by Vincent van Gogh. I had no idea that this emotionally troubled artist wrote sermons! It fits beautifully with the theme of this post:

“It is a good word that of St. Paul: as being sorrowful yet always rejoicing. For those who believe in Jesus Christ, there is no death or sorrow that is not mixed with hope – no despair – there is only a constantly being born again, a constantly going from darkness into light. They do not mourn as those who have no hope – Christian Faith makes life to evergreen life.” (From van Gogh’s sermon of October 29, 1876).

So I am enjoying this painting of van Gogh’s - a dark night illuminated by lights in homes and lights in the heavens.