In Advent the Church practices waiting. Which means there is something humbling about Advent because there is a helplessness to waiting. To wait is to need because if I could simply do it myself, if I could simply make things happen, I would never have to wait for anything.

And so we wait, and in our waiting, we sing together, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, to remind ourselves that we are in need, that there are things that we cannot give ourselves.

This put me in mind of something Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about the nature of Advent. Imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II for his involvement with a plot to assassinate Hitler, from his prison cell Bonhoeffer wrote many letters to friends and family. These letters are deeply poignant and theologically profound. In one letter to a friend, Bonhoeffer wrote this of Advent:

“A prison cell like this is a good analogy for Advent. One waits, hopes, does this or that—ultimately negligible things—the door is locked and can only be opened from the outside.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters from Prison

What we need the most, the grace of God, we cannot give ourselves. Only he can open the door.

Thank you!

Chris+