Get Over It, Joseph (The Gathering Service)

Series Information

Our theme for Advent this year comes from a devotional book by the same name: God is in the Manger, Reflections on Advent and Christmas by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. One of the primary disciplines of Advent, waiting, is one Bonhoeffer knew well from his own personal experience.In 1943, he was arrested for his strong criticism of the Nazi regime. Most of his Advent devotions were written during the two years he spent in prison.

For Bonhoeffer, waiting was a fact of life—waiting to be released from prison; waiting to be able to spend more than an hour a month in the company of his fiancée, waiting for the end of the war. “Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent” he said. “One waits, hopes, and does this, that, or the other—things that are really of no consequence—the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.”

This Advent, we will remember that the mystery of Christ’s coming is that it does not come from us; in fact, it has nothing to do with us! The good news is that by God’s great initiative we are merely recipients of a great and glorious invitation: “Listen, I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me” (Rev. 3:20).

Let us respond in worship with expectant hearts this Advent season. Get ready, people! Someone is at the door!