It is the second Sunday of Advent (Note). Our focus this Advent season is Christ’s second coming.

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28 NRSV

It’s been two millennia of waiting for Jesus’s second coming. This is a long time, and we mortals are not skilled at waiting. Nonetheless, wait we must.

While we wait, let us be about the purpose Christ left us with: The Great Commission. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

Note: Advent is a season of commemoration of Christ’s first coming and the anticipation of His second coming. Taken from the Latin adventus (coming, arrival, invasion), Advent proclaims the coming of Christ in two ways: it celebrates His long-awaited arrival as Messiah over 2,000 years ago, and it anticipates His imminent return as King of kings and Lord of lords. Christians often speak of Christ’s “first advent” and “second advent”; that is, His first and second comings to earth. His first advent was his birth in Bethlehem (the Incarnation) that we celebrate as Christmas. In 2024, Advent begins on December 1st and runs through Christmas Eve December 24th.