God’s Advent promise: We are not alone;
light of world is coming back to us again

By Rachel Wright
Director of Congregational Excellence
Like many others, I have been caught up in the shopping, decorating and eating that mark our secular celebration of the Christmas season. I almost forgot we are still in Advent. 
What a difference 12 months make.
Last year I spent Advent doing just what the church asks of us in this season. I waited with expectation. 
My British husband returned to England shortly after our August wedding to remain indefinitely as we worked through the immigration process, a process that is complex, expensive and without sympathy for a newlywed’s dream of a first holiday spent together.
Throughout December, I waited for Richard’s return. There was no reason to believe he would be home for Christmas, but every time the phone rang, I hoped it might bring the word I longed for, the good news I wanted so much.
Very slowly, I began to understand that the call would not come—at least not in time for Christmas.  
As I sat by myself in Advent services week after week listening to Isaiah’s ancient words, I was reminded that this is the good news of Advent: God is not bound by human limitations. God is not limited by time or space. God is not subject to Caesar’s rule or the Department of Homeland Security.
In the depth of winter, when the whole hemisphere is plunged into darkness, and it is midnight in the hearts of those who are lonely, God promises that we are not actually alone. The light of the world is coming to us—this year and always. 
How then do we wait for the coming of Christ in Advent? How do we wait patiently when there is so much to do? How do we wait when we are paralyzed by desperation for this good news?
I believe we wait the same way one waits for the love of one’s life to return—with a hopeful heart that already recognizes what eyes cannot yet see.