Among one of my favorite Advent memories happened at Ohare Airport’s International Terminal waiting area. It came to my mind today as I read a couple of Scripture readings.
Isaiah
11:1-3
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch
shall grow out of his roots.
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the
fear of the LORD.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by
what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear…
Then in the Gospels…
Luke
10:21-24
In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from
the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father,
for such was your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who
the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes
that see what you see!
For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Think about
this for a brief minute. The “stump” of
Jesus has a “branch” that grows out his roots – this is Jesus, a descendant of
Jesse, who was the father of David. Isaiah
prophesies of Jesus who comes from a stump of what is left of Israel. Filled with the Spirit for wisdom, understanding
(i.e., discernment), counsel, knowledge, and the “first place” of the Lord in
all areas of life. The Messiah to come “sees”
– not just what the eyes see, but what God reveals.
Skip forward
700 years, and Jesus speaks to the Father, giving him thanks that what is
hidden to most, the disciples “see”. He speaks
to them saying “blessed are the eyes that see what you see!”
Advent
invites us to “see” what is hidden to most others. Advent is not the same as preparing for Christmas
day. Christmas is the end of Advent, and
the beginning of Immanuel, God is with us.
Up until Christmas, we are invited to “watch”… “look”… “see” what God is
revealing.
At Ohare
airport several years ago, I saw God revealing.
I was waiting (the other side of watching) for my daughter and her family
to arrive from England. As I waited at
the exit doors a Woman and her two children came near to where I stood. As you probably know, there’s a security barrier
set up between the exit doors and the waiting people. There are all sorts of people waiting –
family, friends, colleagues, and the individuals with signs with a name on
it.
The little
boy was not just waiting, he was watching… to see his Father come through the
doors. He said out loud for many of us
who stood nearby – “Dad, we’re here…we’re waiting Dad”. He didn’t stay silent long and he said again,
“Dad, where are you Dad? We’re waiting
Dad?” His words kept coming out a
couple of times a minute… “Dad, we’re waiting”. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, and even though
various people emerged, my daughter and family, and this little boy’s Dad hadn’t
emerged. I stood quietly – I’m an
adult. He kept saying, “Dad, we’re waiting
Dad, where are you?”
It struck me…
this is Advent. Waiting…to see…because
the one you want to see is one you love.
This little boy’s waiting was expectant, confident, full of hope. He didn’t know it, but he had a greater sense
of Advent as a child than I did as an adult.
Jesus said… “Blessed
are the eyes that see”! Watching,
waiting for the one we love with a child-like expectancy. “Lord, help me to be childlike in my
expectations of seeing you”.
Oh yes. The Dad came through the doors and the little
boy, forgetting anything having to do with security barriers, ran to his Dad
and jump up into his arms, yelling “Daaaaaad, you’re here”. I smiled with tears on my face.
Peace.
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