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Come: Move Towards the Speaker

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Please join me in accepting the invitation of the Holy Spirit to join Him on another season of Advent{ures}, a time to anticipate, to participate and to contemplate the coming of our Savior!

Come, Lord Jesus, come! This is the cry of Advent. The season which marks the beginning of the church year, and the countdown to the feast of Christmas, which begins on December 25th and culminates twelve days later on Epiphany.

Throughout this first day of Advent, the resounding invitation of “Come” has beckoned me.

O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

Isaiah 2:5 NRSV

At church, at a Bach concert and at an Advent gathering, I noticed the common thread once again:

Come Thou Desire of Nations

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O Come, All Ye Faithful

In all these occurrences of one little word, I heard the invitation to believe again, to become new again, to be sure of His love and to be certain that He desires me to experience intimacy with Him.

My response to this call is to move towards the Savior with a willingness to let Him love me completely. And even as I move towards Him, even more so He desires to respond to my cry. But when I pray come, Lord Jesus, come, do I really expect Him to move towards me?

Tonight as I was driving from the Bach concert to the Advent gathering, a disturbing thought occurred to me, what if I don’t really want Jesus to come? What if the reason, He hasn’t made His second appearing has to do with how willing I am for Him to show up? Do I really want Him to interrupt my “happy little life” with His return? Am I in danger of a sentimental approach to Advent?

Sentimentality, defined as trumped-up emotions, can be an avoiding of and substitute for an actual relationship . . . (Preparing for Christmas, Richard Rohr)

Advent is not only the remembrance of Christ’s birth, but also the restoration of life as it was meant to be. Will I embrace the invitation to come and know Him better this season? Will I think beyond this life and have the courage to invite Jesus to come again?

Posted by:

kelrohlf

7 responses to “Come: Move Towards the Speaker”

  1. Kelly Greer Avatar
    Kelly Greer

    Kel — Oh – what a thought…..”what if I don’t really want Jesus to come?” Now what do I really want for Christmas? Am I willing to trade this life for real life? Oh, you have really got me thinking on this one. I want to have a willing heart to receive what Jesus really wants – to come again and to bring us unto himself. Oh, I need to really spend some time on this one. Thank you for causing me to pause and really consider His coming.
    Love,
    Kelly

    Reply
    1. kelrohlf Avatar
      kelrohlf

      Kelly- Thanks for pausing with me…I’m really startled by the thought myself…and in response offer my heart to Jesus for His loving scrutiny…I do want Him…and I want to be waiting in joyful anticipation of His return!

      Reply
  2. lynndmorrisseyL Avatar
    lynndmorrisseyL

    Kel, another profound and beautiful post! Thank you. In one sense, I don’t think we can ever prevent Jesus, the “hound” of heaven from coming. He pursues us relentlessly (mericifully)! But what will I do with Him when He comes? I want my heart to be open and tender and malleable. I want my heart to say, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!” and then receive Him when He does. I like the juxtaposition between Emmanuel coming to us and the call for the faithful to come to Him. I love the reciprocity that He allows and invites. I’m so glad that you came to our Bach concert yesterday. It’s always far more than a concert; it’s a worship service. We invite the congregation to partake in what the Spirit offers at these services, filled with celebration and rejoicing. Our “concerts” always have a part in which the Bach stops, and the congregation is invited to sing a hymn of the faith. There is something marvelously participatory about that. The “professional singers” shouldn’t be the only ones singing. I’m so glad that you partook. Happy Adent-ure, and I look forward to seeing in what ways He comes, on the breath of our prayers, on the wings of His promises.
    Love
    Lynni

    Reply
    1. kelrohlf Avatar
      kelrohlf

      Lynni- Thank you for inviting me to the concert…and I did find it a very worshipful experience and enjoyed singing the hymn and reading the translations of the German and Latin lyrics…I, too, was moved by the duality of our cry for Him to come to us and also for His invitation for us to come to Him. I agree, I have no power over His return, yet I want my heart, mind and soul to be ready! Glad to be sharing the advent{ures} with you.

      Reply
      1. lynndmorrisseyL Avatar
        lynndmorrisseyL

        Amen on all counts!

        Reply
  3. pourcettetemps Avatar
    pourcettetemps

    what a good reflection Kel. Your questions challenged my heart…about what my focus is this season and whether I’m actually anticipating His return and his closeness in relationship with me. Thank you for being so honest here.

    Reply
    1. Kel Rohlf Avatar
      Kel Rohlf

      Janel- Thanks for stopping by…it was a challenging thought, but a good reminder for myself as well…

      Reply

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About Me

Hi! My name is Kel Rohlf. I am an intuitive mixed-media artist, creative writer and performer. Life is a performance. I often attend.

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