I love Advent. And how appropriate it is as we go through Covid-19 with its sickness, shut downs, and struggle. God’s people in the Old Testament cried out for deliverance—from slavery in Babylon, from continued foreign threats, and for a Messiah to give them hope & assurance. Their cries are recorded in many places, e.g., Jeremiah 31: 

“A voice is heard in Ramah (Israel),
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”

And in the Psalms:

How long must I bear pain in my soul,
    and have sorrow in my heart all day long? (Psalm 13:2)

Do not hide your face from me…
Incline your ear to me;
    answer me speedily in the day when I call. (Psalm 102:2)

My guess is that we have all said prayers similar to these in 2020.

I love Advent because it connects with our deepest feelings of pain, loss of control, abandonment. But it does this in the hope that deliverance is coming. The candles we light guide us into times of reflection—again, in the assurance of divine presence. Perhaps you light a fire in your fireplace. How can you not simply stare at the flames in quiet? In contemplation?

Advent music fits this mood so well.

Seeking God’s presence: 

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, 
That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emanuel Shall come to you, O Israel.” 

(Emmanuel/Immanuel is Hebrew for “God is with us.”)

Promise of God’s deliverance: 

“Rejoice, then, you sad-hearted, Who sit in deepest gloom, 
Who mourn your joys departed And tremble at your doom.
Despair not; he is near you, There, standing at the door, 
Who best can help and cheer you And bids you weep no more.” 

(O Lord, How Shall I Meet You, v. 5)

In this Covid-tainted Advent I pray for you times of quiet, times of hope, times of peace as we remember the same longing of our Old Testament brothers and sisters. Their answer came in Jesus of Nazareth. So does ours.

– Rolf Olson, Visitation Pastor

Prayer

Lord of ancient longing and deliverance, come. In this stressful time we grieve, we fear, we lament. We pray that your patience and peace may salve our souls. You are the God of hope and healing. In you we trust. Amen.