Wednesday, December 13, 2006

From "To Believe" by Karl Barth
found in "Watch For The Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas"
"So now here we stand, simultaneously deaf and mute like Zechariah. Ah yes, we only want to pretend to be next to him. In spite of his unbelief, he was still a herald of Advent, one who waited for God. Otherwise the angel would not have spoke with him. Nor would he have become the father of John the Baptist. When everything came to pass which he could not believe and could not express, then he was suddenly able to believe and speak. For God does not stand still when we come to a standstill, but precedes us with his deeds and only waits so that we can follow. And so we will accept - even with all that we cannot say, and with all that we have not yet heard - that we are also heralds of Advent. We will finally believe, and then we will also hear."

I'm trying this season to put myself in the place of those who awaited the birth of Jesus. To really understand what in meant to have the Messiah finally arrive. In doing so, I hope to make the coming of Christ, which I feel is a daily experience, more real in my life. I want to see his arrival in the ordinary and the extraordinary.

3 comments:

R said...

Sandy,

Thank you for this. Beautiful.

aola said...

This is beautiful.

Seems like in our Advent readings this year I have focused more on the hope of his Return and not his birth. It's wonderful that we can see it differently and still be in agreement, isn't it?

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