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The Messiah was coming. All the believers knew that. They
had been watching through every captivity and hardship for Him to show up. The Prophets had promised Him
but they were now long dead. Yet, faithful hearts never failed to hope. The coming of the Roman occupation
only made the need for Him seem more intense. They were in their own land and had their worship system,
but living under harsh religious leaders, a puppet king and ultimately an emperor they had never seen caused many to long
for the anointed One to rise and rescue them. When would He get here?
Unbeknownst to everyone
else, a single angel came to a young girl living in an insignificant Jewish village and told her that she would be the mother
of God made flesh; the Deliverer of whom they longed. The angel also spoke to a carpenter assuring him that
he was to take Mary to be his wife and help raise the God/Man that was in her womb. Using the instrument
of a pagan government’s desire to take a census, God got the couple to Bethlehem, the City of David; so that David’s
long awaited heir could be born. Using trying circumstances God moved Joseph and his pregnant wife, who
was about to deliver, to “The House of Bread” so the “Bread of Life” could come into the world. And,
He did. Not like He was expected to come, but He came.
We believers today not only
look for His coming again, but His coming to us now. It may be the fulfillment of a personal promise that
has yet to come true. It may be for the ability and means to fulfill a call and purpose that God has placed
in our life. It may be to answer a prayer that we have long prayed. We have waited and we have hoped. We
look at our present circumstances and cry from hearts teetering on the edge of desperate discouragement, “When will
He get here?”
But don’t lose hope! The very circumstances that seem
to be adverse may be the very means God uses to create a time and place for our miracle to manifest. We
do not always know how God is moving for He often moves in ways we cannot see. But this we do know, God
will not abandon His people. He will fulfill His Word and His Promise. If He has placed a hope and a purpose
within us, He will send the power for its fulfillment. We must never stop watching, even if it be through
tearful eyes. He will show up! And it will be at the right place and at the right time.
“It is good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait …!” Lamentations 3:26
Advent
Blessings,
Fr.
David A. Barrett
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