Arrivals

Christians have historically called the four weeks before Christmas “Advent.” Advent is a Latin word that means “coming,” or “arrival.” And that is precisely the focus of this season: to focus as Jesus followers on His arrival, His coming — both looking back at His coming over 2,000 years ago and looking forward, remembering with anticipation that Jesus has promised to come again to make all things right.

What images, memories, places or people does the word “arrivals” bring up for you?

Arrivals stir things up in us. Not every arrival is pleasant, of course. But the good ones — like the ones I just talked about — open something up in us. They remind us of what and who we love, of what we need; they remind us of the longings we have had that have been fulfilled, and they remind us of the unfulfilled longings and yearnings that we hold onto still.

At the centre of any arrival is the person who is coming. We anticipate the person’s arrival because of who they are. Who they are somehow makes a difference to us — being with them makes a difference. We want to be WITH them. We may need them, or they may need us.

As we prepare our hearts to celebrate Jesus’ coming, we’re going to take the time to look at just who it is who is coming. We’re going to see why Jesus’ biographers describe his coming as the best and most important arrival that the world has ever known — “Good news of great joy for all people” — as the angels declare in Luke 2. And to do that, we’re going to ground our time in the first four verses of the book of John, in all of their poetic beauty.