Advent 2019 – Day 15

From Fleming Rutledge’s Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus:

“Where is God when it is dark? The church proclaims that he never hides himself to no purpose. Somewhere, somehow, in spite of all appearances, his vindication awaits the proper moment. At the heart of the Advent season is the proclamation that God did not remain where he was, high above the misery of his creation, but came down, incognito, into the midst of it. Nor did he come down merely to sympathize. Even incognito, Jesus of Nazareth had power to heal every disease and drive out every demon. He had power to do this at every level—he came not only to the poor and wretched of the earth but also to the lonely people on the upper level, in the bar, and to the commuters and suburbanites who spend their dollars mostly on themselves. To each and all, we bring this announcement: God will come, and his justice will prevail, and he will destroy evil and pain in all its forms, once and forever. To be a Christian is to live in expectation of that fulfillment.”