Advent: Christians' Empathy with Israel in Expectation and Waiting - a podcast by Jonathan Michael Jones

The few weeks
prior to Christmas are often spent celebrating the birth of Christ. The birth
of Christ is vital to remember and right to celebrate. Nonetheless, the Advent,
e.g. his second and first comings, are often neglected. I often lament the
neglect of Advent during the month of December. More than a personal matter, I
believe it is a matter of remembering and living within the reality of the life
of Christ and the story of God and his people. Why then should Christians
observe Advent, which is certainly not synonymous with Christmas? I should
suggest that an overarching reason for observance of Advent is Christians’
empathy with Israel in expectation and waiting. The church is surely able to
relate to Israel because we too are in waiting and possess eager expectation,
not of his first coming but his second. In fact, Advent focuses more on
Christ’s second coming than his first. Certainly, we should remember the
expectation of Israel awaiting the Messiah; yet, we too await the second coming
of Messiah, which is a certainty. The heart of Advent then is not only expecting
but also waiting. As Israel long awaited and expected the coming of Jesus, we
too await and expect him to return as well as other aspects of Christ’s work
and character which are crucial. I would like to submit three primary
imperatives for which we wait and expect.

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