The Day Is Coming

The Day Is Coming – Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the Christian season of waiting. Carol asks us to ponder what we, personally, are waiting for. She gives some examples of things people are waiting for, both as individuals and as groups, and says that waiting can be difficult. And we now not only await the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but we also await the second coming of Jesus. We have recently spent a series of Sundays with Jeremiah’s words before Israel’s impending exile and then enduring that Babylonian exile, today’s scripture is from Malachi to the post-exilic Israelites who were waiting for God’s control to resume and for their return to normalcy. Malachi’s words of deep hope from God, the last words in our Old Testament, promise a return of God’s justice and point to a day when God is coming. Throughout Advent we will await the birth of the Christ child, and then beyond Advent we will turn to the Gospels to look at the life of Jesus as the model for God’s return as leader on earth.