Advent is about the coming of the Son, but we shouldn’t forget that Advent is a thoroughly Trinitarian event. The Son doesn’t sneak away from heaven when the Father’s not looking; rather, out of His love for the world the Father sends the Son to reveal that love, and gives and glorifies the Son so that He can give everything to the Son who glorifies Him.
Advent, though, is equally about the Spirit. According to Luke, the Son takes Mary’s flesh when the Spirit overshadows Mary, the Spirit anoints Jesus at His baptism, the Spirit is the power of Jesus’ words and acts, the energy by which He heals and drives out demons.
The Spirit, Luke tells us, is the one who drives Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. That could be a description of the incarnation itself: It’s the Spirit who “drives” the eternal Son from His Father’s bosom into the wilderness of a world under the dominion of Death and Sin. The Son is “beguiled” (Mark McIntosh) from heaven by the eternal Love that is the Spirit.
We receive this same Spirit from the Son who baptizes with Spirit and fire. The Spirit who drives Jesus into the wilderness also drives us into the howling wilderness of brutality, abuse, cruelty, the barren land of malice, hatred and anger. The Spirit who lit the fire of Jesus sends us into the darkness to bear and be His light.
The wilderness is dangerous and gloomy. We don’t want to be there, and we push back against the Spirit who desires to take us there. The Bible answers that fear with a promise: I will be with you. And the Bible also answers that fear with a stark warning: Do not quench the Spirit.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
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