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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Old testament Jews had to be patient.
The prophet Isiah foretold of the Messiah in 770 B.C. So Jews were told to pray each day for the savior of the world for nearly 800 years. That’s patience.
Isiah told us that a virgin would conceive, and He shall be named Immanuel, God with us. And he shall be called “wonderful counselor, Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace… and the government shall be upon his shoulders.”
And then… nothing. Just wait.
Today we are just 27 days away from Christmas. It may seem like the holidays are speeding towards us.
How easily we forget that the child we celebrate on Christmas morning was foretold centuries earlier.
Could you have waited that long? If your father had taught you the faith, and his father before him, and so on and so on back through time, wouldn’t you eventually wonder if what you’re waiting for is something that simply isn’t going to happen? And when the Christmas star appeared and the angels proclaimed the good news to the shepherds, wouldn’t your natural response be “Really? Why now?”
This weekend is the first Sunday of Advent. It is the season of preparation for Christmas. We light the candle of HOPE.
Hope is distant cousin of impatience. Many grew impatient as to when the Christ child would arrive. This Sunday, be thankful for those who remained hopeful.
Chris Conley
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