Waiting for Jesus

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Our theme this year for Advent is taken from Charles Wesley’s 1744 hymn, “Come thou long expected Jesus.” It reminds us that this season (which begins on Sunday) is not only about waiting for the baby to be born in the manger. It is about waiting for the Jesus who is still to come, the one who announced the end of the world as we know it and ushers in a reign of transformation and justice.

 

I am waiting for that Jesus.

 

Our life at Grace Church in recent years has been marked by challenge and instability, and we do not know that the future holds.

 

Many of you are dealing with personal struggles. I know that many of you are waiting for test results, undergoing treatments, struggling in marriages, and worrying about jobs.

 

All of us stagger under the load of suffering in the world. Although the government shutdown has ended, certainty and stability still seem out of reach. I hear many of you talk about constant anxiety and deep fear.

 

And so we wait for Jesus.

 

My hope for us, in this season of Advent, is that we can wait together. Because suffering is relieved by sharing it. And hope is built in community.

 

Our job is to hold hope for one another in this time. When you are weary, I want to remind you that God has not forgotten us. When I am weary, I hope you will do the same for me.

 

We wait to be set free. We wait for our worlds to be transformed. We wait.

 

But we do not wait as those without hope. God has given us this place, and God has given us one another–to share our burdens, to comfort our spirits, to strengthen our souls.

 

Yours in Christ,
Anne+