Preaching in Advent: What Do We Do in the In-Between Time?

As December approaches, our thoughts and hearts turn toward Christmas. Children count down the days, and the social calendars of adults are filled. It's a tough time. Children face the challenge of keeping their minds on school while songs of the season fill the air. Adults have the same difficulty. It is hard for us to live in the present while keeping an eye on the future. When we get too focused on one, we tend to lose sight of the other.

The early Christians faced the same struggle. Some wondered how to live in light of the Lord's return. Others were concerned that Christ had not yet returned. Will he come back in our lifetime? What do we do while we wait? Still others regarded Christ's slowness in returning as a sign of indifference, carelessness, or impotence on the part of God.

The writer of2 Peter wants us to know that God's time is not our time. It is because of God's patience, God's love, God's long-suffering that the return of Christ has been delayed. It is God's desire that none should perish, but that all should come to saving faith. Today, we are still waiting and watching for Christ's return. We live today with an eye on tomorrow. Christ has come. Christ will come again. As preachers, the question is: "How do we preach in these in-between times?" There are several themes to keep in mind as you prepare to preach in advent.

Maintain Expectant Hope. In the movie Dead Poets' Society, Robin Williams's character takes a group of underachieving teenagers and turns their lives around. He becomes famous for a line he uses to instill within his students an understanding of the importance of the moment. He says, "Seize the day!"

As Christians, we live in expectant hope for the coming of our Lord. The Scriptures remind us that we must "seize the day" when we are told that "the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). Therefore, we live like people who are looking for that day. Every day is an opportunity. It is God's desire that none should perish, but that all should come to saving faith. We have the opportunity everyday to live for Christ's return by sharing faith, doing deeds of kindness, showing hospitality. Seize the day!

Keep Watch. Keep your eyes open. Stay awake. As preachers, we have the opportunity to remind those who pass the year without seeing Jesus that Jesus is present. All of a sudden, he is everywhere: In the grin of the policeman as he drives the patrol car full of presents to the children's home; on the twinkle in the eyes of a Taiwanese waiter as he tells of his upcoming Christmas trip to see his children. We see Jesus in the emotion of the father who is too thankful to finish the dinner table prayer. Jesus is in the tears of the mother as she welcomes her son home from overseas. Jesus is in the heart of the man who spent Christmas morning on the city streets giving away cold baloney sandwiches and warm wishes. He's in the silence of the crowd of mall shoppers as the elementary school chorus sings "Away in a Manger."

As Christians, we keep watch over ourselves and over our communities. We keep ourselves awake by focusing upon the One who has come and who is coming — through prayer and study, through conversation and kindness, through partnership with family and friends in faithfulness to God's call in our lives. Keep watch, and remind the people he is present.

Prepare. Advent promises the sure coming of God in Christ. We celebrate the fact that God took on the life of a human being and came into this world to live with us. We anticipate the promise that God will return at the end of the world. The question is: "What do we do in the meantime?"

We prepare ourselves. We turn away from all that seeks to separate us from God and from one another. We turn toward the One who offers us peace, wholeness, and well-being. We watch and wait, expecting to meet him in the very next person we meet. We pray. We pray seeking God's direction in this time of turning, of waiting, and of watching.

As our culture prepares for Christmas, let us prepare to remind the people that God is with us and is ready to meet us in every situation and circumstance we find ourselves. Christ has come. Christ will come again. Let us prepare ourselves in-between times.

Tim Bias previously served on the staff of theDiscipleship Ministries.