this is no longer my blog

I think I like Advent. It's the season of the church year where we wait and hope for the coming of Christ. In an entry from around last Easter I mentioned that Easter has always been my favorite church holiday because of the anthems and the celebrating that goes on. But the period of time that leads up to it is Lent, which is somber and dark, and people always feel like they need to give things up during Lent. And Lent ends with Good Friday, and when Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and the hopes and dreams of all of his friends and followers were crucified along with him. Of course we are Easter people and so we know what comes next in the story, but on that Good Friday no one knew what was to come in three days. All they knew is that their hope hung broken and bloody on that wooden cross.
But with Advent it was unexpected. People knew the prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures, and people hoped for that day to come, and with Christmas their hopes were fulfilled and the angels let people know it. And during the season of Advent we get all the excitement and the anticipation leading up to the nativity of Christ. And I don't really know where I'm going with this. I just sat down to write about what's been going on in my life the past couple days and I felt like I needed to write about Advent and why I like it. And really, we find ourselves in much the same shape that the people did before Jesus was born who were hoping for a Savior to come and deliver them. We live in a very broken world, battered by hatred and violence. We are in desperate need of a Savior. And we hope and anticipate the day when Immanuel will come and deliver us, when the Kingdom of God will be ushered in. When fear and pain and hate and sin will be no more...
Anyway, I need to get to bed. 8:00 is going to come pretty early tomorrow. God's peace!