“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Is 9:6

In Advent, we approach Jesus Christ, who is not just our ONLY Redeemer, but also our Judge. The rich treasury of Advent texts and hymns, both ancient and modern invite us not only to acknowledge our sinfulness, but also to belief that God ‘has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son’ Jesus Christ.

The Gospel reading for the first Sunday of Advent compares the terror of the end times with that of the flood that destroyed the earth in Noah’s time: But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left (Matt 24: 36-41).

Indeed, the passage about the coming of the Son of Man strikes fear, but the Good News is that there is hope for us as witnesses of the Light. Matthew points to the necessity of believers as witnesses for the Light to be ready for the coming and to watch for His Advent. The Gospel reading invites us this Advent to be a Noah, a model of witness for the Light, to stand in the flood of this busy world and church decline, watching and praying.

There is hope in the face of what is clear uncertainty about the state of the world, the church, and the time of the Second Coming of the Son of Man. Advent hope inspires us as witnesses for the Light to live a purposeful life and to share the Gospel with others, knowing that Jesus Christ’s return is imminent.