Scripture: Isaiah 7:1-17
We have a beautiful art installation hanging in our sanctuary, intertwining strands of blue and purple yarn and sliver and gold wire trace out letters that spell the word ‘Awake.’ I know that might not seem like a very Christmassy word to you. But that’s because Advent is about time.
These holy days are set apart for us to seek the Lord and wonder about how what happened before when God put on flesh and was born among us as a child shows us how to live in the present and what to expect in the future. Past, present and future come together in one brilliant kairos moment (iykyk)*
Ultimately, Advent is about time–the birth of Christ is the fulfillment of all God’s promises in ways that are beyond our understanding. The worst thing we could do is close our minds and hearts, confident that we are holy experts with all the revelation we need. There is always more.
This Sunday we will hear the words of the prophet Isaiah who first gave the sign of a baby born to save his people. It was given hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus to King Ahaz of Judah while he was preparing the city of Jerusalem for a long brutal siege. Both King and Prophet understood and expected the sign to be fulfilled in their own life-time. And it was. And it wasn’t. The sacred prophecy held more truth, more meaning, more revelation than they ever could have comprehended. The words God gave Isaiah encompassed the past, present and the future. The eternal words of God always do.
*Here’s your daily Greek language lesson. Kairos is a Greek word meaning the right, critical, opportune moment. It’s pregnant time, harvest time, anointed time. The opposite of kairos is chronos time (that’s the root of the word chronological), which is ordinary specific limited time.
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