"The advent of our God shall be our theme for prayer…."

"The advent of our God shall be our theme for prayer…." So begins an old Advent hymn, and the coming of our God (for advent means ‘coming’) has been the prayer of God’s faithful people from the beginning. Ancient Israel longed for God’s intervention into history. And when the long held promise of his coming was fulfilled in Jesus, the church has continued to pray again and again for his coming: "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" This year the first four Sundays in December are the four Sundays of Advent. The color is blue, signifying hope. The theme, the Lord’s coming, is three-fold: his initial coming as an infant born in Bethlehem; his continual coming in Word and Sacrament; his final coming at the end of all time and history. The Advent wreath will be lit, the hopes of God’s people will be raised. We wait with joy and expectation.