“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:14)
We are living in dark times. Numerous wars and conflicts across the globe are not only continuing but threatening to escalate, fueled by geopolitical, economic, and ideological strife between great powers. Climate disasters are also increasing in frequency and intensity, fueling anxiety and gloom especially among the younger generations.
As we enter the period of Advent, we are reminded that the first Advent was also a period of darkness. Just as Israel had been waiting in darkness and silence for over 400 years after God last spoke through the prophet Malachi, the Church is today in the wait for God to act once more, holding on to the great hope we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christians can wait not in despair but with anticipation and hope because we know that God will act. For just as God had acted in ways in the past beyond our wildest imagination— the Word became flesh! — we know He will come again to reconcile to himself all things (Col. 1:20) and bring about the renewal of all things (Matt 19:28). God who dwelled with His people in Old Testament times through the tabernacle (Exod 25:8) has chosen to dwell among His people in a more personal way, in the Word-become-flesh! The Word, God’s very Self-expression, who was both with God and who was God, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us”!
And we have hope because we are solely justified by the grace and truth manifest in the incarnate Word—the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father. We have hope because we are fully dependent on God’s unchanging and abounding love and faithfulness (Exod 34:5-7) which will never fail even though we fail time and again, just as Israel failed time and again in fulfilling the Mosaic covenant. So, as we wait in the darkness of the world and our own darkness, let us wait and look eagerly to Advent—the coming of our Saviour and Lord Jesus.
Prayer
“5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.”
Psalm 130:5-6
Pr Ho Wei Liang
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church
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