Welcome, dear friends, to Advent. This is the advent of Jesus. The coming of Christ. The Messiah is on the way. "Advent" is best understood referentially. It is not a stand-alone noun, really. It is a verb-like noun with a subject. The subject is Jesus.
"Light one candle to watch for Messiah... let the light banish darkness" - Wayne L. Wold
"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down," Isaiah 64:1a
When I look at a candle's flame, I am practically lulled to sleep. It is relaxing. The flame has a strange way of slowing down time for me, lengthening my moments, unraveling my tension. What a beautiful way to enter the season of Christmas. Silent night. Holy night.
For as true as this is, it turns out light doesn't have that lazy character. Not one bit. Light has been thought to be the fastest of substances in all of creation, meandering its way through space at a mere 186,000 miles per second. Theories, fields of study, careers have been built on this fundamental truth.
HOWEVER, in Italy recently there was an experiment that turned the world of physics on its ear! "Should the results stand, they would upend more than a century of modern physics," says the below-referenced article. Neutrinos, electrically neutral particles similar to electrons, have been clocked at speeds that are faster than the speed of light.
"If it's correct, it's phenomenal... we'd be looking at a whole new set of rules for how the universe works."
It seems to me that the presence of the Holy Spirit, the coming of the kingdom of God, the healing of the world, is a "whole new set of rules." The Apostle Paul talks about people in Christ living according to the "law of the Spirit," which I have never been able to figure out. There is the law (thou shalt...) and then there is the Spirit. I don't think the Spirit should use "law" language. I suppose the best we can do is say that life in the Spirit is living with a non-law law. Ok, I'm confusing myself too.
Getting back to Mr. Wold the hymnist and Isaiah the prophet, my heart begins to stir when I re-read those phrases, having learned about neutrinos and the speed of light. If only Christ would tear open the heavens and come. What a sight!
My prayer today, is "Jesus come like a neutrino." Doesn't roll off the tongue like other prayers, but I think my Lord understands it just the same. The wonder of it all, is that Jesus does in fact come... not after the prayer or even during, but before.
What darkness do YOU want banished by Messiah's light? Let me know!
For me, I would like Messiah to banish the darkness of distrust.
"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)
