Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord.

Isaiah 11:1-3a

Advent – Day 2: Read: Luke 2

In my reading of Luke 2, I was impressed with the messengers God chose to announce his arrival on earth. His first choice: the shepherds in the field. This is an unlikely choice if you wanted to enter the world with notoriety and fame. Shepherds were second class citizens, low on the totem pole of influence. But they were the first recorded visitors to look into the face of Jesus as an infant. They believed and told everyone what they had seen and heard.

Then there was Simeon, a “righteous and devout {man} …eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come…” Led by the Holy Spirit to the temple that day, he immediately recognized Jesus as the Messiah and praised God, confirming to Mary and Joseph that this, indeed, was the Messiah – in case there was doubt.

And there was Anna, a prophet, who spent her days and nights at the temple. She worshipped God continually. When she saw Jesus, she praised God and “talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.”

From first glances, it seems these three had nothing in common. And yet I notice they were all waiting expectantly for the promised Messiah. And their expectation prepared them to receive the news that the Messiah had come, even in the unexpected way of infancy.

As I pondered this, I wondered how expectantly I wait for Jesus. Not only for his second coming, but for his appearing in my daily life. Do I see him when he visits me? Or am I busy with life’s pressing issues? Would I have been among the first to know that the Messiah had come?

I ask myself, and you, what needs to go so we might live with more expectation? What keeps us from seeing him TODAY?

Advent activity: how is Jesus appearing in your daily life? What needs to change so you can live with expectation?