Suggested Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20
Advent is a time of waiting. During this weeks-long season leading up to Christmas, Christians anticipate with eager expectation the celebration of Jesus’s birth. In so doing, we also declare our longing for his coming again in great glory. Advent trains us to wait in hope, which Christians call the virtue of patience. In a world of urgency and hurry, Christians are called to be a patient people who live according to the time of God’s patience.
But patience has its limits. At some point, the time of waiting is over and patience is no longer required. Patience finally gives way to joy, the delight of receiving the object of our anticipation. For Christians, therefore, while patience is key, joy is ultimate. Patience is for the journey, joy is the destination.
Our reading from the Gospel of Luke is a story of patient waiting transformed into the fullness of joy. After nine long months of anticipation, the virgin mother gives birth to her long-expected son. The skies fill with a multitude of angels who have eagerly awaited the coming of the Son of God “in the fullness of the time” (Gal. 4:4). They sing, rejoicing in the mystery of the Savior’s birth:
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!
Likewise, shepherds, confronted by the sudden announcement of God’s mighty act, rush with great haste to meet the Christ. They return home “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (2:20), sharing the good news of God’s work to all they meet.
A whirlwind of rejoicing surrounds the holy family, as Mary and Joseph gaze upon their child and see the face of God. In this manger, God and humanity stand united in the infant Jesus. Heaven and earth converge in this child. The patient waiting of God’s people breaks forth into rejoicing praise, as angels above and mortals below join in songs of joy. The scene echoes the announcement of Psalm 96: “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice.” Heaven and earth are filled with the glory of God.
On Christmas Eve, we continue a long tradition set forth by the earliest Christians. We begin celebrating our Lord’s nativity on the evening before Christmas Day. In one sense, the early Christian practice of holding celebratory vigils on the eve of major feast days like Christmas, Easter, and All Saints’ Day was simply an extension of the Jewish practice of recognizing a new day as beginning at sundown. In another sense, the practice embodies the way God’s people always live between patience and joy. On this night, the anticipation of our Lord’s birth wells up in our hearts such that rejoicing cannot wait until tomorrow. Having waited patiently through Advent, we now prepare to receive the King in joy. On this night, let us join the songs of earth and heaven, shepherds and magi, angels and archangels, rejoicing in the coming of the Lord.
Nicholas Norman-Krause
Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics
Nicholas Norman-Krause
