comings of Christ in Advent: the coming of Christ Jesus, born in Bethlehem, crucified and resur- rected (past); the coming of Christ in the human heart (present); and the coming of Christ at the fulfill- ment of all things (future). We step into these three Advents
in the eucharistic prayer: “As oſten as we eat of this bread or drink of this cup (present), we proclaim the Lord’s death (past) until he comes (future).” And the congregation responds,
affirming that we have crossed into kairos, God’s holy time, where all times overlap: “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” Past, present, future. Just as past, present and future
exist together in the Lord’s Supper, these times coexist in the season of Advent. When we are children, all our focus during Advent is directed at Christmas and waiting for the Christ child’s birth, the first coming. Tat is enough, for children. On the First Sunday in Advent,
as we hear the reading from Mark (13:32-33), we are reminded of what Bernard called the third com- ing at the completion of all things: “Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.” Many have speculated about when this coming of Christ will occur. Mark admonishes us: “You do not know.” But there is that second advent,
the coming of Christ into the human heart. For the Orthodox Christian, the heart is where the whole person comes together: body, mind and spirit. How much thought do we give to Christ’s advent in the human heart? In his exposition of Psalm 102,
Luther wrote: “Christ’s face is three- fold: firstly in his first advent when he was made incarnate, who as Son of God is the face of the Father …
secondly in the spiritual advent without which the first is good for nothing—and so one has to recog- nize his face through faith; thirdly, in the second and last advent when his face will be fully visible.” Past comes to live in present and
shapes the future. Future comes to dwell in now. When we pray, “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come …,” we are praying for the past and the future to come together in this time, in this place, in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives. Without this second advent, this second com- ing in us, Luther writes, “the first is good for nothing.” Christ comes to dwell in us—Christ, who was and who is and who is to come. Shine your future on this place,
enlighten every guest, that through us stream your holiness, bright and blest, bright and blest; come, dawn, O Sun of grace (“As the Dark Awaits the Dawn,” Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 261). What will the signs be of Christ’s
breaking into our present times, our present lives? Te psalmist sings a possibility: Steadfast love and faith- fulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithful- ness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky (Psalm 85: 10-11). “Advent is the beginning of
the end of all in us that is not yet Christ,” wrote Tomas Merton (Sea- sons of Celebration). Te Christ of the past and the Christ of the future enter into the present, transforming our hearts into the heart of Christ, transforming our minds into the mind of Christ, transforming our lives into the life of Christ. Advent is a bridge, a bridge
between who we were, who we are and who we shall be, living in the great advents of Christ. Ah, dearest Jesus, holy child,
prepare a bed, soſt, undefiled, a quiet chamber in my heart, that you and I may never part (“From Heaven Above,” ELW, 268).
Author bio: Cherwien is a freelance writer and musician who has written hymn texts for denominational hymnals across the U.S. and Canada. She worships at
Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
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December 2014 29
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