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Whenever I get in our Volkswagen to drive somewhere I notice a little yellow light in front of me. Like most yellow lights on a car’s dashboard, it demands actions. And like most people, I ignore that little yellow light, but at some point, that is going to be a problem.
It this case the yellow light is simply telling me that I am low or out of windshield wiper fluid. Seems to be less serious than the van’s check engine light that is always on, but a mechanic friend told me to ignore that one because at the van’s age it is always going to be on. Now, I have laughed at the VW light telling me that I am out of wiper fluid. Who needs wiper fluid when the skies are dumping endless amounts of rain on my car? When will I ever need to spray liquid on my car? It is winter in BC – it will always be wet.
We know that eventually there will be a sunny day when the dust of the city has settled on my recently dried window, and I am unable to see through it. The sun will bear down on that windshield, and it will make it look like a dirty lamp! And then when I need the wiper fluid the most, there will be none available – just like the light warned me.
Advent is like that yellow light warning us that we might not be prepared for what is ahead. We aren’t ready for Christ to return and set up God’s Kingdom on earth. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be living out the values of the Kingdom of God now. But too often we figure we don’t need the love, joy, peace, and hope that the coming of Christ brings. We feel there is no place to use it anyway! That is because we live in a world that too often lacks hope. Peace, far too often, is a pipe dream and we can see the need for reconciliation. Joy in this world seems to come from having stuff or from winning. And we long for love but we have replaced it with quick social media contacts and connections that lack the intimacy that love requires and creates.
We can see the dangers of living this way, the alarm has been sounded. Our tanks are empty, but God wants to fill them – so that when we have the opportunity to proclaim these values, to share them with others or to live them out in full view of the world, we will have what we need – and that which the world needs as well.
This year we are going to “Imagine Advent!” We are going to imagine the coming of Christ into this world and we are going to prepare for it. We are going to imagine what the world will look like when Christ returns with that hope, peace, love, and joy that he will bring with him. But we are not going to only imagine them – we are going to decide to live them. We are going to fill our tank with them. We are going to be ready to live them when Christ returns because we are going to be living them out now – even if the world doesn’t seem like it has a place for them.
I think tomorrow I am going to put some more windshield wiper fluid in my car – just like my car is telling me to do. I am going to do it not because I have use for it right now, but because I can imagine the day when I will. How about you? Do you have need to fill your tank with hope, peace, love, and joy? Do you see the warning light? You are going to need them soon!
