The In-between
As we begin the final countdown to Christmas, the fourth candle of Advent is lit. Even the most secular individual can have a deeper understanding of Advent this year as we’re all in a season of waiting for a life-saving vaccine. After a tragic and tumultuous year, there is a light at the end of the tunnel – a promise of restoration for a world turned upside down by COVID and its byproducts. BUT, not yet for the general population. We still have some tough months ahead as we wait for the vaccine to be distributed. For now we stand in the in-between, anticipating the arrival of that which will liberate us from the confines of our homes.
However, while the vaccine will certainly be life-saving, its power is limited to this one virus and the length of its efficacy remains uncertain. Not only that, it does nothing to address the grief of those who lost loved ones or the financial devastation the virus leaves in its wake. Still, it’s the beginning of a long healing process.
The real cure for what ails us arrived in a person, not in a prescription. Yes, there is a cure for our humanity, though not everyone chooses to avail themselves of Christ’s life-giving vaccine of love and mercy. Plus, we are still waiting for Him to come again, which will herald in the final restoration phase of God’s salvation plan. The second shot so to speak. Meanwhile we live in Advent, holding the hope of heaven and the not yet simultaneously.
The vaccine Christ offers promises to liberate us from the confines of our own humanity, from our sinful nature which wreaks its own kind of havoc in this world. The side effects of a Divine vaccine are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Is there anyone who couldn’t benefit from a healthy dose of those?
There was an excellent article in The NY Times last year which speaks poignantly to our in-between condition. It is entitled Before Christmas, Face the Darkness. The author notes that “to observe Advent is to lean into an almost cosmic ache: our deep wordless desire for things to be made right and the incompleteness we find in the meantime. It reminds us that joy is trivialized if we do not first intentionally acknowledge the pain and wreckage of the world.” Could that author have known the impending disaster awaiting us in 2020?
That first Christmas so long ago allows us to experience Emmanuel, God with us - heavenly moments amidst the chaos of living in the in-between. We’ve seen those moments played out throughout this year, in big and small ways, to remind us that we are not alone in our pain – or our joy. Despite the suffering COVID has caused, there have also been blessings that can’t (and shouldn’t) be overlooked.
As we approach Christmas, we are called to prepare our hearts for Christ, and I can’t think of a more prepared heart than a broken one. For a world that has experienced unprecedented loss in a myriad of ways, choose to let Christmas remind you once again that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.” Christ is not only the light at the end of the tunnel but even more importantly, the light in the tunnel guiding us through our suffering.