(Photo by Max Beck on Unsplash)

Advent is here!

Advent is a season in the Christian calendar where we celebrate the coming of Christ our Lord into the world. It’s a curious time in the church.

I feel like this is a time in the Christian faith where we become time travelers, like Hippolyta Freeman, and navigate between two worlds.

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We navigate the present world where we encounter glimpses of Christ, and we embrace the future world where Christ will return in final victory.

The season of Advent invites us to balance and encounter both worlds. Holding on to the reality that Christ is already with us but not yet fully here.

However, this year the tension of the “Already but not yet” presence of the Lord is difficult to bear. We find ourselves in a once in a century global pandemic that has shifted our norms. Simultaneously, political and social systems are changing everywhere; if there were a time that we needed the full presence of the Lord, it would be right now.

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Many in these tumultuous times see this collective suffering and breaking as an indicator that this is the end. In my neighborhood, I have noticed random signs proclaiming:

“These are the end times.”
“Christ will return tomorrow!”
“Are you ready?”

However, I believe these signs are distractions from the truth that God is calling us towards in this season.

God, who is our Creator, Liberator, Healer, and Redeemer, doesn’t want us to center our existence on fearing the end; instead, this season of Advent is an invitation to imagine a new beginning.