Sunday, November 30, 2025

Meditation

On May 22nd the Treasury Department officially announced that they would be ending the production of the penny. And although this coin will still be around for some time to come, chances are you might notice a little more when you receive one back in your change. The penny, like all coins, has a front and a back. At least today in the United States, the front of a coin has an image of a president, for the penny it is Abraham Lincoln. On the backside there is another design featuring a national symbol of some sort, for the penny it is the Lincoln Memorial. Even though both designs are on the same coin with the same value, the design is different on the front and on the back.

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, but like a coin, this season in the church year has two points of focus. The first side of Advent, one which we almost exclusively focus on, is the arrival of Jesus. In this time we draw close to Bethlehem and celebrate the arrival of the long awaited messiah. This for many is the totality of Advent.

But there is another side of Advent, one just as important but so often overlooked, which is looking forward to the second coming of Jesus at the end of time. We often shy away from even talking about this second coming for several reasons. First, it is always hard to talk about something that has not happened yet, especially something so important. Second, it can be frightening even thinking about the end of the world. And finally, with so many voices, it can be hard to even know what to think.

Advent has two sides, but it is one story. It is God’s story of rescuing and redeeming His people to be with Him forever. And that is the focus we keep as we look at both sides of Advent.