Late in the evening on December 24, 1963, I was supposed to be snuggled up in my bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head. Well, not really; I had no idea what such things were. Nonetheless, my brother and I were standing at the large, old, single-pane window. Having wiped away the cold dampness, we stared into the dark north sky…watching…waiting for that miniature sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer.
We didn’t have long. Mom and Dad would be making their way up the creaky stairs heading to bed, and we’d better be fast asleep when they checked on us.
No sign of the sleigh, and hearing mom and dad start toward the stairway, we quietly climbed back in bed and pretended to sleep. Soon, our door opened, the hallway light casting a soft glow in the room; they seemed satisfied that we were fast asleep.
The door closed.
Strange thing, though. Before I drifted off to sleep, I was sure I heard the stairs creak more than once, as if Mom or Dad were going up and down the steps for some reason. I couldn’t imagine why. They needed to get to bed! After all, Santa Claus was coming!
Such was the final stage of anticipating Christmas in my young childhood. Sure, there were smaller anticipations along the way.
I looked forward (sort of) to the church Christmas program in which I would have a part. Truth be told, though, I more anticipated the little gift box of hard candies that came after the program was over!
I also couldn’t wait for Mom’s cookies—especially the buckeyes!
And every year, either my Grandma Ketchum or Grandma Elsie and Grandpa Pete came for a visit—sometimes both. Of course, they brought presents!
So much to anticipate at Advent when you’re a child.
Frankly, when you’re an adult, as well.
Just listen to the typical Christmas—or “holiday”—songs played this time of year. So many express the anticipation of something!
How about these, for example. What is the lyricist getting us to look forward to?
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas
• (I’m Dreaming of a) White Christmas
• All I Want for Christmas Is You… or My Two Front Teeth
• Silver Bells
• Frosty the Snowman
• Please Come Home for Christmas
• Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
And so on….
You know what’s interesting about all those Christmas/holiday songs and what they’re getting us to anticipate? None of them existed a century ago! Until the 20th century, all of the “holiday” music anticipated something far more significant—the advent of Jesus.
As it should be.
When you look at the event that served as the catalyst for the late-December holiday season, it was anticipated in ways that serve to give us some direction on rightly looking forward to Advent—both our Christmas celebrations as well as the promised second coming of Jesus.
Take some time between now and Christmas Eve to read Luke 1:26-56 in the Bible. How was the birth of Jesus anticipated? What can we learn from it?
Allow me to suggest a few ideas to help us anticipate Advent rightly.
First, be focused on a Person, not on an experience or on stuff.
Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. Must have been an incredible experience, but the focus isn’t on him. He was just a messenger to direct attention elsewhere.
Nor was the focus on Mary, despite her crucial role in the coming of Jesus. Yes, Gabriel said she was highly favored—literally “much graced”— and blessed. But it wasn’t because of who she was, but because of him to whom she would give birth and of her role in the process.
No, the focus throughout the story is on the coming baby boy.
“Jesus,” he was to be named. The “one who saves,” his name means. To Mary’s betrothed, Joseph, more clarity is given. “He shall save His people from their sins,” the angel told him.
“He shall be great!” Gabriel declared. That must have been rather startling. After all, his mother was an insignificant young woman, betrothed to a mere carpenter, living in an obscure Galilean village, in a land occupied by the most powerful empire on the planet. Nothing in the circumstances surrounding this baby’s birth remotely suggested he was destined to greatness.
But great he shall be!
Great, because he is the “son of the Highest,” referring to the Most High God. It was a way of saying this baby would be fully God. Yet he is also the son of David—a descendant of Israel’s king and, therefore, fully human. Uniquely, Mary’s baby would be the God-man!
Great, too, because of the royal throne that awaits him. “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,” was the promise. This Jesus would fulfill an ancient promise made to David that his descendant would rule on the throne forever. And coupled with his royal greatness is the authority that goes along with it: a universal reign that knows no end.
Second, anticipating advent rightly will be driven by the promises God has made.
Through the angelic messenger, He promised something unheard of—a virgin birth! And through this means, He promised a Savior-King. But the promises weren’t merely given orally. They were confirmed powerfully.
God confirmed His promise to Mary by referring her to the promise in the process of being fulfilled to Elizabeth, Mary’s much older relative. A woman well past child-bearing years was six months pregnant, just as God had promised!
Then, when Mary went to see Elizabeth, the promise to Mary was confirmed through both her baby’s and Elizabeth’s reactions!
What to do with God’s Advent promises? Mary’s response guides us: we believe and obey!
But also we praise! That’s the third way to anticipate Advent rightly. Note the highlights of “Mary’s Magnificat” and incorporate the elements. Offer praise to God for His grace…power…holiness…mercy…justice…compassion…faithfulness to His Word!
Praise God for what He has done for you. Mary recognized that by His grace God saved her…blessed her…and did great things for her!
Praise God for what He has done and will do for others: exalting the lowly, feeding the hungry, enriching the impoverished—actions that anticipate elements in Her Son’s “Sermon on the Mount” coming in about 30 years!
There’s yet one more crucial element to anticipating rightly. After all the excitement of her initial greeting by Elizabeth, things settled down. For the next three months, Mary helped tend to the needs in the difficult final trimester of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Cooking…cleaning…hauling water…tending to animals—all the typical domestic stuff.
Then when John was born, Mary went home. And waited.
Patiently, faithfully, obediently, humbly waited.
Hard telling what all she went through during that half-year of waiting. We know she had to tell Joseph what was up, and we know he didn’t buy it—until his angelic visit. Certainly, the villagers weren’t convinced. What would all that mean for the young woman?
Whatever it meant, she waited.
Anticipating Advent rightly means we wait—patiently, obediently, faithfully doing what God has given us to do until He comes again.
Have a joyous, blessed Christmas!
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