The season of Advent is upon us. The word Advent comes from the Latin advenire—“to come.” Something is coming.

If you remember West Side Story, Tony sings with anticipation: “Something’s coming, don’t know when, but it’s soon…” That longing captures the spirit of Advent—expectation mixed with impatience, hope mingled with restlessness.

Waiting is not something we do well. We live in a culture of immediacy: instant downloads, next‑day shipping, quick fixes. Yet the church dares to begin its year not with celebration, but with anticipation.

Scripture speaks into this waiting:

Isaiah envisions peace among nations.

Paul urges us to wake from sleep.

Matthew warns us to be ready.

But here’s the challenge: we don’t like waiting, and we don’t like preparing for what we cannot control. When life feels heavy, “just wait” sounds hollow. We grasp for relief, numb ourselves with distractions, chase shortcuts, and settle for substitutes. Paul’s words sting: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.”

Advent confronts our tendency toward impatience and instant gratification. It calls us instead to patient hope. When we rely on numbing agents or distractions, we mask the deeper struggles—powerlessness, despair, the life that should have been. Yet into this restless longing Paul reminds us: “Salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near.”

Something’s coming. Peace is not a fantasy—it is God’s promise. And we are witnesses that this promise has already begun. The Christ child is the sign, the beginning of fulfillment. God’s peace arrives not through force or immediacy, but through vulnerability, incarnation, and love made flesh.

This is the joy of Advent: we are not waiting in vain. The candles we light are not mere symbols but declarations of hope. Each flame whispers: “Something’s coming.” In Christ, God has already begun the work of peace.

The manger leads to the cross, and the cross to resurrection. We live in the “already and not yet”—already redeemed, not yet fully restored. That is good news worth celebrating.

So how do we prepare? Not by grasping at quick fixes, but by embodying Christ’s light and love in daily life. Advent is not passive waiting—it is active hope. Like preparing for a child’s birth or readying a home for guests, the anticipation itself shapes our welcome.

Friends, let us live as people who trust the promise: The night is far gone. The day is near. Come, Lord Jesus.

With faith and anticipation,

Pastor Russ