November 30, 2003; The First Sunday of Advent Readings: Zechariah 14:4-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-31; Psalm 50:1-6.   The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith Waiting With Wonder Waiting, watching, and wondering, we enter the season of Advent. We have been here many times before-and, yet, Advent can hold something new for us this year. Whenever we watch and wait and wonder, we open ourselves to the grace of God. The grace of God is dynamic and fresh for those who are open to possibilities. So much of life demands action. We have to be on task, get things done, and accomplish the goal. The weeks leading up to Christmas can feel much the same. There is always something to be done-presents to buy, cards to send, preparations to make, and decorations to place. The season of Advent gives us permission to wait and watch and wonder. Be open to the possibilities. How will God be incarnate in your life this holiday season? During Advent, we are invited to marvel at God's greatest gift to us-the nearness of God. Advent is that time to await the remembrance of the incarnation-that God is our Emmanuel-God is with us. We prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of Christ by stepping back from everything that we can do. We step back from everything that we can do and consider with wonder what God has done for us. On that holy night when Christ came to us in great humility, God came so close. The nearness of God to God's people was forever assured. We wait and watch and wonder as we prepare for the coming of Christ. From the gospel of Luke we hear: "When you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." The Gospel reading refers to the Second Coming of Christ. The season of Advent focuses our attention in two ways-on the first coming, which is the birth of Jesus-and on the Second Coming, which is the coming of Christ in glory. About the Second coming, very little can be said. Interesting, our reading today does have some positive images. Followers of Jesus are directed to "raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." It is like "summer [being] already near." Signs of the Second Coming will be signs that the kingdom of God is near. The nearness of God is always a gift to the faithful. By "the faithful," I don't mean "the perfect" I mean "the hopeful"-those who base their lives on the hope that they have in Jesus. Today we are welcoming five people into Christ's church through baptism. They come today with an openness and a hopefulness about the commitment that they are about to make-about the relationship that they are about to enter. Three of them are old enough to speak for themselves and say that they desire to be baptized. I was baptized when I was an adult; I was twenty-four. I felt kind of nervous, but I was also filled with hope and the desire to be closer to God. Through baptism, God comes very near to us. God is as close to us as our breath. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ's own forever. We enter this relationship with God through Jesus Christ based on our hope. Advent is time to consider the hope that we have in Christ. When we are hopeful, we wait, and we watch, and we wonder. Such is the spiritual stance that allows room for God to be our savior. Advent is a good time to practice that spiritual stance of hopefulness as we await the coming of Christ. Amen.