Behold He Comes
Today marks the first Sunday in advent season according to the Church calendar. The word advent is derived from the Latin word adventus meaning coming. This is further translated in Greek to mean Parousia. In the 4th and 5th centuries it was a season to prepare candidates for baptism at the feast of Epiphany in January.
Christians celebrated Epiphany as God’s incarnation represented by the visit of the Magi to baby Jesus, his baptism in the river Jordan and the first Miracle at Cana of Galilee. All these reflect the revelation of the person of Christ to the humanity.
By the 6th century the advent season was attached to the second coming of Jesus Christ to judge the world and consummate his eternal kingdom. The theme for today points to the past when the Israelites looked forward to the coming of the Messiah but also to us today as we look forward in eager expectation that we shall see him face to face and behold his glory. The day and the hour are not known and for that reason we have to keep watch in the way we live our lives daily.
Micah 5:2 is a clear prophesy about the coming of Jesus as a ruler. He will come from the humble town of Bethlehem which was well known as David’s home town. Yet David stands out as Israel’s greatest king and it is the same town that God chose as the birth place of the Messiah. This is the same passage quoted by the chief priests and teachers of the law when Herod asked about the birth of the messiah in Matthew 2:5-6. Bethlehem means House of bread and Jesus is the bread of life. Ephrathah was the old name meaning fruitfulness or abundance. Spurgeon said “our poor barren hearts never produced fruit or flower, till they were watered with the savior’s blood.”
This abundance and fruitfulness is still evident today for those who are passionately waiting for Jesus’ second coming. Advent has become a time of
preparing what to eat, best clothes to wear during Christmas day, a time of high expenditures on travels and things that do not build the Kingdom of God.
It is also a period of reckless driving because the drivers have many customers and so they want to drive so fast to be able to make more money. Yet others drive under the influence of Alcohol causing the innocent ones to be crushed in the circumstances beyond their control. The message of Christ’s coming goes beyond the physical planning and preparations to preparing our hearts
for the savior to find room to give us abundant life.
We are encouraged to be content in our situations and believe God of abundance for our needs. To be
reminded that out of the insignificant town he fulfilled his purpose of saving the whole world. Remember that the greatest gift that you can offer to Christ during this Christmas is your heart. Behold he is at the door knocking and if you open he will come and dine with you. The generosity in giving comes from a heart that has believed in God’s generous offer of his only Son Jesus Christ.
The Very Rev. Canon Dr. Rebecca Nyegenye
PROVOST