“The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.” (Luke 3:5b)

  My family had the joy of celebrating the Thanksgiving weekend in Cancun, Mexico, returning to a beachfront hotel where Joan and I had been before. The hotel’s welcome packet included a map of the campus, indicating the site of an outdoor, oversized jacuzzi which excited our kids but my wife and I didn’t remember from prior visits. In walking toward that location, the mystery was revealed: we discovered a large circular plywood wall, with exposed concrete and local masons busy at work….in other words, a luxurious pool under construction – but not yet an accomplished reality. ‘Something to look forward to, I suppose, on the next visit. 

A twelfth century monk and mystic named Bernard of Clairvaux (modern day France) understood the deep theological reality of this current season in the church year: preaching about a “first advent” when Christ came in the vulnerability of human flesh, and a “second advent” when He would come again in the “brightness of glory.” (Edgardo Colon-Emeric, Duke Divinity School, 2021).  During the in-between times, what Bernard called a “middle advent,” Christian believers enjoy the spirit and power of the risen Christ…and, at the same time, work & wait patiently for His promised, perfected kingdom. 

The prophecy of Zephaniah similarly anticipates a coming, better day for daughter Zion. “I will remove disaster from you,” promises the Lord. “I will deal with all your oppressors; I will save the lame and gather the outcast. I [will] restore your fortunes!” (from Zephaniah 3:18-20) Understand, however: this is the site map, not the current reality! We live in the middle advent, anticipating the full promise of Christ’s kingdom…the brightness of glory… His coming again. 

I pray that you, your families, and your churches will thoroughly enjoy this holiday season. Do not forget to preach, however, our vision of the second advent when the risen Christ overturns all oppression and fortunes are restored. ‘Something to look forward to! Spread the HOPE.

~Steve