Advent: The Sequel
I have visited the country of Haiti 3 times and though it has been a couple years since, memories of the country and its people have come to the forefront of my mind this advent season. One of my favorite things about Haiti is the vibrant art they create in the midst of a dry and weary land. Along dirt roads, often lined with trash and which smell of feces, drove cars covered in bright colors and designs, as if a symbol of liveliness and hope despite the surrounding deterioration and helplessness. Many drivers acted as travelling evangelists, with “Merci, Jesus” plastered in bright yellow across the side of their bus. Christian art covered the most mundane parts of the villages, whether a taxi driver or a lottery ticket shack. And while I have seen plenty of fish stickers on people’s cars, I have never seen an American car with “Jesus, Come Back” painted above its windshield in bright and shining colors and bold font. And this was one of the most common messages written on Haitian vehicles: the message of the second coming. And it struck me that many Christians in America, never think much about the return of Christ, nor do they long for it. What did the people in Haiti have that we are missing?
The term “advent” in the Scriptures simply means “coming” or “arrival”, sometimes translated as “presence”. But it may surprise us to find out that the majority of uses of “advent” in the New Testament refer to the Second Coming of Christ, not to the coming we often anticipate in our season of advent before Christmas. It seems that the American West is more comfortable celebrating the coming of a little baby in a manger who preached love, grace, and peace to all, than we are to beckon the arrival of the Judge of the Earth, where he comes to separate the righteous and the wicked and to defeat his enemies. We may feel uncomfortable, even embarrassed, celebrating the harsh reality of the coming judgement. “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done” is likely not the verse on our bathroom mirror (Rev 22:12). But the New Testament authors are not ashamed to anticipate the next advent of our Lord, just as Haitian Christians are not. They take hope not just in the grace of our Lord, but in the judgement of our Lord. And they pray, beckoning his return, desperate for him to claim his rightful rule.
Make no mistake, the first advent and the coming advent are of the same God. The Word made Flesh in Bethlehem and The Warrior Judge coming on the clouds are one in the same person: the man Jesus Christ. We must caution ourselves that we never make love and judgment mutually exclusive, as our culture often does. Our God is a God of gentleness, love, and tender mercies, but our God is also a God of perfect righteousness, just anger, and holy wrath. Moses saw no contradiction when the Lord revealed himself as such, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation” (Ex 34:6-7).
This advent season, may we not only reflect and prepare our hearts the first advent of our Savior (as we ought to do), but may we also long for and anticipate the advent still to come, when the baby in the manger who was worshipped by a few magi (Matt 2:11) will return and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Phil 2:9-11). May we glory in the humility and kindness of our God as he reaches out to us in mercy for our salvation in the first coming. But may we also glory in the power and judgement of our God who will return to finish what he started. Indeed, the last words of our Holy Book say it best:
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20).
John was ready for Jesus to return. The Haitians are ready for Jesus to return. And now we ought to ask ourselves, are we?
