Great things are promised,
And they are imminent.
Incredible events are proclaimed,
Events that no human ear has heard;
unrevealed mysteries are opened up.
The earth and humankind
Are already quaking under their advance.
And a prophetic voice cries into a frightened world:
The kingdom of heaven has come near.
The Lord God himself is coming,
the Creator and Judge.
He comes with love for humankind.
He wants to take humanity home
to the everlasting banquet.
He is coming.
Are you ready?
(Wonder of Wonders. Christmas with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 56)

Are you ready? With that question, Dietrich Bonhoeffer points us toward a central theme for Advent: getting ready. The need for our ancestors in the faith to get ready for the Messiah to come in that Bethlehem manger bringing a new hope and promise in a world darkened by sin and poverty and oppression and war. The need for us to get ready for the return of the Messiah heralding again a new hope and promise in a world darkened by those same things.

Are you ready? Are you ready for a world in which evil is defeated and peace prevails? Are you ready for a world in which love wins? Are you ready for a world in which it is not odd to believe in power as something revealed in an innocent baby and a cross? Are you ready for a time when trust in God’s promises is obvious not cause for skepticism?

Are you ready for a time in which the world that the prophets of old pointed toward becomes reality? Are you ready to see Micah’s vision of a new world happen? A world where…

God will judge between the nations and settle disputes of mighty nations…They will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools. Nation will not take up sword against nation; they will no longer learn how to make war…We will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and always. (Micah 4:3,5, CEB)

Are you ready for a time when a world like this tells us that we don’t need to struggle for control of daily events but God already has it covered?

Are you ready? That, perhaps more than any other, is the key question for us in Advent or any season for that matter. We read the prophecies of Micah and others. We read the story of Jesus. We recite the affirmations, pray the prayers, and sing the hymns. Finally, though, after we have done all of those things one question remains: are you ready? Are you ready for the God of the affirmations and prayers and hymns and scripture to be made real in a powerful and wondrous way?

As Advent draws to a close and we prepare once again to kneel at the manger gazing into the face of the infant who inaugurated a new way of peace and hope, ponder that question. Are you ready? Let Bonhoeffer prod us all along in thinking about that.
Great things are promised,
And they are imminent…
The Lord God himself is coming,
the Creator and Judge.
He comes with love for humankind.
He wants to take humanity home
to the everlasting banquet.
He is coming.
Are you ready