Something Is About to Happen
December 14, 2020
Heather Vanderberg
As we walk these weeks through Advent, we hear the cry again and again, "Prepare the way!" Let's be honest, though: this time of year (even in the face of COVID restrictions), preparing the way of the Lord can get lost in preparing the way of Santa, preparing the way of the family coming to visit, preparing the gifts, the food, and the decorations.
Sometimes it feels like we fuss over the trimmings and the trappings as a way to mask the ugliness of injustices we see in the world. Our celebration preparations let us put a bandaid on the anxiety (or sadness or melancholy) that festers and grows in the corners of our own lives.
I'm all for a little escapism, but it's important to remember that the problems we see in our modern world are not new: Jesus was born into a time of political and social darkness. Those waiting for Jesus' birth were waiting and watching the arrival of the Messiah to give them freedom from oppression. And He came! But, then, why do the times still feel dark?
Sybil MacBeth writes in her book "Season of the Nativity," that even today the world is still in Advent mode. We are still waiting for a world transformed, for a time when all will be well for everyone. In this time of waiting, we have a tendency to get mired in the immediate and to forget that the work of transformation is happening. God is continually at work - even when we don't see it. The challenge, then, is to draw near to God, choosing hope instead of hurt, faith instead of despair. MacBeth gives us an Advent task "to recite and believe again and again and again the acclamation 'God is up to something; something is about to happen.'"
Good and Gracious God, help us to remember that you are constantly at work. Help us to look for you in our midst, even when the world is dark and the uncertainty seems too much to bear. Remind us: you are up to something. Something is about to happen.
