As I write this column, we are deep in the Thanksgiving weekend, headed to the first Sunday of Advent and a new liturgical year.
During the past few weeks, we have made many preparations. We have spruced up the house for guests, bought festive foods, prepared family favorites for the Thanksgiving dinner and added those special touches that make our invited friends and family know how grateful we are to have them in our lives.
We have lived with a sense of expectancy about the thrill of being together. We have found ways to give thanks to God for all the blessings He has so richly bestowed on us. And we have rested in the presence of those we love amid service opportunities, athletic contests and Wildlights.
Somewhere along the way in the preparation process, I heard my Sirius XM radio play an old Paul McCartney song, Let ’Em In. The lyrics go like this: “Someone’s knocking at the door, somebody’s ringing the bell. Do me a favor. Open the door and let ’em in.” It seemed like the iconic Thanksgiving dinner song as I thought about all the relatives who would be coming to spend time with us during the long weekend.
But as I was going to bed on Friday evening, my thoughts shifted as I looked at the print of a painting that hangs on the wall of our bedroom. It is titled The Light of the World, painted by William Holman Hunt in 1904, the original of which was St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Inspired by the verse from St. John’s Gospel, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life,” the painting depicts Jesus radiant and holding a lantern, knocking at a door with no handle, rusty hinges and surrounded by overgrowth.
It is clear that the door has not been opened for a long time. On the frame of the painting are inscribed the words “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me.”
Advent, like the pre-Thanksgiving time, is a time of preparation and waiting with expectancy. We associate the Advent season with waiting for Christmas. And so we are, but more. We are waiting to celebrate God’s intervention in human history by becoming human to open a pathway home. This was a route that had been closed since Adam and Eve’s sin had separated humans from God.
We are waiting to celebrate the coming of Emmanuel, “God with us,” and the opportunity to be in communion with Him, here, now and forever. The first three weeks of Advent focus on Jesus’ coming in glory at the end of the age, to gather those who have recognized Him in the distressing disguise of the hungry and thirsty, the sick and those in bondage and to bring them home.
So, we might ask the same question that people asked John the Baptist before Jesus’ first coming, “What are we to do?” The answer is the same. Turn your life around and show evidence of your repentance. Share what you have with those in need. Be in right relationship with those around you. Spend time preparing for His coming, just as you did for your Thanksgiving guests.
The King of the Universe, who loves and cares for you, is knocking at the door. Open the door and let ´em in.
