Pastor's Column 11/27/2022

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in the land of deep darkness a light will shine.” Isaiah 9:2, NLT

1st Sunday in Advent: "Expectation!”

There is no prophet who has an easy assignment. The very nature of the call, required “calling things out as though they were; although they had not yet occurred.” In a word, the prophets of old declared changes and events that would happen, but the timeline often took centuries. Isaiah especially was tasked with proclaiming the arrival of the Messiah, but this would not occur for some 700 years after the prophet’s declaration of His coming. God places in the soul and heart of the prophet, a passion for speaking with certainty; even when prevailing conditions seem to negate the message. Many recall when Dr. King spoke his final message on the night of April 3, 1968 at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, he prophetically pronounced: “I may not get there with you, but we as a people will get to the Promised Land!” The message gave people who had lived in the shadows of a nation marginalized and oppressed, reason to have an “expectation” of better times to come. As with most prophetic messages, the “time-line” is neither immediate, nor illusive. Like our Messiah’s coming, “It shall come to fruition.” The Advent season in the Christian Church is the time of anticipation and expectation. However cumbersome the clouds that hover above our heads; how blighted our times may seem, hope is ever on the horizon. Isaiah looked at the most blighted region of Judea, and proclaimed that a Savior would come. The times we live in should never define our destiny. In a world of division and selfish ambitions, there is always a Light that pierces our darkness. Christ is the Light of the world, in every age. If we see [immediately] all that we hope for, it is not hope at all. Advent helps us believe and see what is truly ahead!