Advent Day 11: Arrival

Advent means arrival.

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Christmas isn’t significant because it’s a birthday party. (This was easily my least favorite part of doing kids ministry. All the curriculum is always framed as a birthday party for Jesus.)

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The idea of arrival is significant because the world has been co-opted by a false king with no real claim to the throne, and now the true heir is arriving to take back what is rightfully his.

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It’s significant because the abusive ruler is being pushed out, and all of his ills are being redeemed.

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The acclaim of Advent is not “happy birthday to Jesus,” but rather the announcement that, “A King is here.”

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And the fact that this king arrives as a baby should either inspire mockery or else awe-ful wonder.

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Because such humility and meekness is either a joke or it is an audacious affront to the systems of power and abuse employed by the false king.