A homily for Advent
"Taste and see that the Lord is good"
We give thanks every day for our daily bread; we see hope through the light of our faith in the darkness; we’ve tasted, we’ve seen, and we proclaim that the Lord is good - a statement I’m sure we can get behind.
Advent for many (perhaps the majority) is about - once again - the coming of a child laid in a manger, remembering the prophecies of the Old Testament coming to pass in a small rural farming community called Bethlehem, which means ‘House of Bread’. Make what you will of all the symbolism - the House of Bread bringing forth the Bread from heaven, and so on.
The Old Testament teases, gives us a taste, a glimpse, of what is to come—the promises of God unfolding, the foreshadows of the coming King, Jesus—and yet, even with the coming of Jesus, we are still in the foreshadowing of what is yet to come. The Old Testament prophecies still wait to be fully completed, and the New Testament still speaks of a future yet to unfold.
Advent speaks of what has now come to pass, but also speaks ever more loudly of what is still to come; the King who came as a lamb, and will return as a lion.
Across our nation (and the world) we see hearts sick because their true home is absent from their lives. We see the land, subjected to futility and bound to decay, crying out for the revealing of the children of God, to obtain freedom and glory.
We are in Advent. I don’t mean the annual season of the church calendar, but the long season of history - the church awaiting the last arrival of the King of kings and Lord of lords. It was prophecy and an angelic army that heralded His first arrival in celebration. It is prophecy and angels of other kinds who will herald His return in judgement.
And the saints of God too - you and I - from the first coming of the King, we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. It is to us herald to the world (or the nation at least) the goodness of God; to reconcile others to the King before His return, to escape His wrath and gain His mercy.
So we celebrate the first advent, through which we have tasted and seen, but we also await His return with anticipation and soberness.
It may seem like the earth is being filled with darkness, as in the time before creation, but the day will come when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the water covers the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
It is advent - the King is coming again!
Mark 13:24-27
24 But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
A song for Advent:
Alternative versions:
Thank you, Steve. A timely reminder that we live in the hope and expectation of the Second Advent of Yeshua, Messiah. How important it is to watch and wait for His return!
This was first given at the Hope Countryside online call, the day before Advent began. Our theme was 'Taste and see that the Lord is good.' John spoke about 'taste', reflecting on our daily bread and giving a reason for hope in the midst of the farming crisis. Jane followed with 'light in the darkness' and releasing hope. My part followed this, bringing the theme together in the homily.