The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:25-26

Advent marches at caterpillar speed for children. Twitching little ones walk through toy departments, excitedly crying out, “That’s what I want! Can I have… Why do I have to wait?” Waiting—for children and adults—is one of life’s perpetual frustrations.

Our downtown church stands at the intersection of two well- traveled streets with traffic lights controlling vehicles and pedestrians. At green, crowds stream across. Then come the blinking numbers: 15, 14, 13…3, 2, 1. We twitch like children while waiting the next interminable one hundred twenty seconds.

Scholars differ on time determination, but for purposes of illustration, let’s assume it was approximately 2,000 years between the Eden promise and God’s covenant words to Abraham. Then another 2,000 years before Jesus’ birth. A core of God-followers waited through the centuries, tenaciously clinging to prophetic promises, such as Micah’s pinpointing the Messiah’s birthplace in Bethlehem.

One of those faithful followers was peasant Mary. Though young, fearful, and questioning, she would claim God’s promise even in the waiting: It’s exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now… (Luke 2:53 The Message)

What are you waiting for this Advent? More importantly, how are you waiting? Jeremiah, who knew what it was to wait—and weep—gives us a clue: …wait patiently… That word has as its essence the meaning of quietness. No twitching as we wait for God to do his good work, his exactly what he promised.

Sunday, November 29
You will strike his heel, but he will crush your head.
Genesis 3:15b

Sin slithered into Eden, invaded perfection. Suffering, secrecy, stealth replaced companionship, completeness, comfort. Where once every desire knew promised fulfillment, insatiable hunger now controlled soul and body. Where vulnerability was the norm, shame shadowed creation.

BUT… Creator, Gracious, Lover God steps into the mess with a promise, a resolute word for the future. Sin will have its consequences, but the re-creating plan takes shape. This enemy of all that is good and beautiful and holy will deal a bruising wound: You will strike/bruise his heel… Speaking directly to the perpetrator of evil, God foretells that while his actions will cause unspeakable hurt, his ultimate demise is inevitable. Her (Eve’s) offspring—the Son to come—will deliver the deadly blow. Decisive success! Absolute victory!

This enemy dealt a bruising wound to the Son, and we mourn as we see the blows throughout Jesus’ life and at his death. The enemy sought to thwart God’s redemption in the wilderness, as friends departed, as family misunderstood, as followers betrayed.

Are you bruised as Advent 2020 begins? Is your spirit black and blue from the onslaught of the Evil One who yet inflicts his blows on God’s children? These months have been long with the physical ravages of disease, isolating loneliness, disrupted plans, and unmet expectations. But with sometimes weak faith, we cling to the belief that the deadly Edenic plot has been and will be overcome by the Son. Living in the now-but-not-yet, we confidently travel through this Advent from Genesis to Revelation and shout for the world to hear:

Amen! (So be it!) Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!

As I began writing these Advent devotionals in March, we—like thousands of others—were under COVID-19 “shelter in place” orders. And now we’re back to similar restrictions. My March Questions are just as relevant today: Where will I be when Advent begins on November 29th? Will I still be healthy? How will my life have changed? How do I view God from this pivotal point of uncertainty? Will my view of God change if I and my family become victims of disease? Will what I write in March still have meaning in December? Someone once said that no coincidences exist in following Jesus. Do I believe that in March? Will I believe it during Advent?

The pandemic and my writing began in the middle of Lent, a season reserved for reflection and repentance. My Lenten reading was from Dr. Walter Brueggemann’s A Way Other Than Our Own, and I found many of his words as relevant in Advent as in Lent:

In this season…O God, unsettle us…

We are in a season of new life, but now it is time for passion, suffering, death, denial repentance.

The church is always at its most daring and risking and dangerous and free when it sings a new song.

…scarcity is enough when it is shared…

Ours is a time like the flood, like the exile, when the certitudes abandon us, the old reliabilities have become unsure, and “things fall apart.” …We grow more strident, more fearful, more anxious, more greedy for our own way, more despairing, and, consequently, more brutal.

…In the midst of troubled times, be with us, God of well being.