‘They were waiting … for the promises to be fulfilled … Now the time has come … we’ve been waiting, Come, Lord Jesus’
Mixed up season is Advent. We look back, look forward. Meanwhile, the event we’re hoping for has already happened. But still we say & sing the prayer ‘Come, Lord Jesus’.
Back in 1989 I tried to put these contradictory thoughts into a song ‘They were waiting’ (in All Together Everybody 1991). Like many songs, it goes from telling a story to prayer. The story goes from then to now – again, like so many songs & prayers in Christian traditions: ‘They were hoping, we’ve been hoping — come, Lord Jesus, won’t you come.’
And still we wait, & hope, & watch for pretty much the same things as they did 2,000 years ago. They were waiting for peace, no more fighting. So are we. They were hoping for justice, no oppression. So are we. They were watching for signs, for singing, celebration. So do we.
Come, Lord Jesus, won’t you come!
