by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
Psalm 27:14 English Standard Version

I’ve never ice skated. I’ve never laced up a pair of skates and glided serenely around an ice rink lost in the movements of left and right, backwards and forwards, and spinning circles. I’ve roller skated, but that looks more like roller derby than grace.

These plastic seals are meant for me, not to push but to sit on and let someone else push me. The purpose of these seals is to be pushed and pulled by adults as they take their children on a winter ride…at least that’s what it looks like to me.

As we near the celebration of Jesus’ birth, it might feel that we, like these seals, are being pushed and pulled around the ice rink of life.

We are pushed and pulled by our expectations of what this Christmas will look like.

We are pushed and pulled by people making demands on our limited energy.

We are pushed and pulled by the reality that there is only so much time left to prepare.

We’re tired by this time in our preparations for Christmas. We might even feel like we’re finished with all the stuff that surrounds Christmas and just want it to be here.

Life has a way of pushing and pulling us, and not just at Christmas. Being pushed and pulled makes waiting one of the most difficult activities of our lives. We’re tired of being pushed and pulled as we wait for Jesus, waiting for him to come in his glorious splendor.

We, the Church, continue to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus! Come in your glorious splendor.” Then we wait. We wait for Jesus to come.  As we pray this prayer, may we not lose heart even as we are pushed and pulled by the expectations of Christmas and life itself.

Jesus is coming.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado