Meditation for Advent
By Sonja Taschdjian Donahue

Remember the anticipation, the excitement of childhood before a picnic or before the arrival of a favorite relative? Remember scanning the sky for sunny weatherŠ looking forward to special foodsŠ getting ready the holiday clothes? The heart beat faster and there was a bounce to our step. Remember?

Remember the last weeks of pregnancy, their mix of joy and dread? Remember preparing the babyıs bed... trying out different names... wondering whom "it" would resemble most? Remember the daily shampoo ritual, so the hospital stay would find us with squeaky clean hair? Remember?

Remember the nerves and internal questioning, days before arriving in the new country? Remember the hope-filled dreams of success see-sawing with the cold facts arrived at in the light of reason? Remember checking the entry papers, counting the small stash of money, practicing the new basic language idioms? Remember?

You, gracious God, have given us practice
In hope, in waiting, in anticipation,
Over and over.
We have heard your Word of promise
From one Advent Sunday to the next.
Still, your arrival among us
Takes us by surprise,
Far from prepared.

But you take no offense
At our poor hospitality.
You are eager to join us.
You, willingly and gladly,
Wish to take on our human condition.
You offer yourself to be sojourner,
Our intimate friend‹
Part of the very fiber of our being. Emmanuel, God-with-us.

So let your dew of grace
Drop down on us
And drench us with joy
At your presence.
Come, Divine Guest,
Take us by storm.
Welcome!

Sonja Donahue resides in Arlington, Virginia, where she is actively involved in the ministry of NOVA, a lay-led community of faith in the Catholic tradition. Copyright 2000. Sonja Taschdjian Donahue

Worship updated December 8, 2000

Advent, A Time for Preparation
By Rev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian

In the year 2000, the Advent season begins on Sunday, December 3, and ends on Sunday, December 24, Christmas Eve. Advent is a time for us to prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas.

The word "advent" is from the Latin word adventus, which means "the coming to". It is interesting to note that God comes to us in Jesus Christ in many ways, wrapped in various manners:

- God came into the world as a baby - Jesus wrapped in a blanket.
- God came to humanity in the ministry of Jesus - Jesus wrapped in a robe.
- Finally, Jesus/God will come to earth to redeem us for eternal life - Jesus wrapped in a cloud.

Advent, the coming of Christ, is a three-dimensional concept: (1) His first coming into this world as a little baby, on that first Christmas; (2) His second coming in the future, marking the culmination of history and the fulfillment of Godıs purpose on earth; (3) His coming to us in our daily lives. All three of these advents require preparation.

1. The first advent required hundreds of years of preparation. The New Testament presents the claim that all the ages had been waiting for the arrival of Jesus Christ, that all history was preparing for His coming. In that vein, St. Paul wrote, "In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son" (Gal 4:4). By the time John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness his prophetic message, "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him," God had already been at work for thousands of years bringing about just the right conditions for the birth of Jesus Christ.

2. The second advent will be at the end of time. People must prepare for that great event. The second coming is the return of the risen Christ to earth in glory to judge the living and the dead, and to terminate the present world order. Nobody knows the exact date of that climactic event. But His coming will be unmistakable in its universality, "like lightning from the east, flashing as far as west" (Matt 24:27). Thus, in Advent we anticipate the coming of a conquering Christ in the future. He will come. And when He comes, will we be ready?

3. There is a third dimension - another kind of advent: Godıs coming to us and to our world in the present. He comes to us everyday in the Scriptures. He comes to the world through ordinary people, in ordinary ways.

As we prepare for this season of Christmas, still one issue looms large. It is the issue of preparation during Advent. Cards, gifts, wreaths, trees, parties, and all the lists, which appear so necessary, may not be that important. But they will become truly important when we prepare our spirits as well. Our spirits need the primary attention. They provide the crucial context which gives our other preparations their true meaning.

For whom should we prepare our spirits? For the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the ultimate purpose of our existence on earth. Advent is a season of preparing to receive Godıs greatest gift, Jesus Christ. Since He is the way, Advent is the time for walking His way, preparing the way of the Lord in our own lives, in the lives of those we love, and those we need to love, for their sake and for our own.

In addition to his duties as pastor of the Armenian Congregational Church of Greater Detroit, Rev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian is currently serving a second two-year term as moderator of the AEUNA.




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