Welcome to Things Unseen.

There's a tradition in the Christian church that I think in many places has died out,

that at this time of year, on the very first Sunday of Advent, celebrating Jesus' first coming, Christians have paused to reflect

on his second coming. And occasionally our Christmas hymns acknowledge that. I wonder if in your church

you sing W.Y. Fullerton's hymn. I cannot tell how he will win the nations, how he will claim his earthly heritage, how

satisfy the needs and aspirations of east and west, of sinner and of sage.

But this I know, all flesh shall see his glory, and he shall reap the harvest he has

sown.

And some glad day his son will shine in splendor when

he, the Savior, saviour of the world, is known.

Why do you think this tradition became such a fixture in the old Christian calendar?

I feel fairly sure it was because our spiritual forefathers knew that the incarnation actually intersects

history, but it looks beyond the moment of the incarnation towards the end of history.

The birth of Jesus is the beginning of something new. It's not its consummation. That's still to come. The humbling of the Son

of God led to his humiliation on the cross, but it was the prelude to his exultation and

glorification and then ultimately his return. Think of it this way. At Christmas time we're

reminded of a very small number of Jewish people who came to worship

Jesus, people like the aged Simeon, and a few of the marginalized the shepherds, and a handful

of Gentile scholars from the East who came to kneel before him.

But the Scriptures teach us these were merely the

first fruits. The tiny shoots pressing through the soil of history as an indication of what

one day will take place in the final harvest, when all the nations will see the glory of the

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