Advent Reflection
‘I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come,
and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Haggai 2:7
In 1744, Charles Wesley was reflecting on these words from Haggai, considering what the birth of Christ might mean for the suffering and division that characterized the world around him. Out of those reflections, he wrote this beloved advent hymn. The version in the video is by one of our favorite bands, which we think captures the joy and dynamism of Wesley’s words.
One of the most striking elements of Jesus’ ministry is his knowledge of what is in the hearts of others (e.g., Luke 5:22; 11:17). What we see throughout the gospels is that Jesus knows people in such a way that they come to know themselves (see John 4:1-41; Luke 5:1-10). In these interactions, we see divine justice at work: Christ is the long-awaited king whose reign is truly just because he is able to know and judge the secrets of hearts (Romans 2:6). As much as this strikes a note of warning—for who among us ‘takes captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5)—a prominent stream of Christian thought has it that through his knowledge of our hearts, Christ invites us into friendship with him. Thomas Aquinas writes, ‘the true sign of friendship is that a friend reveals the secrets of his heart to his friend.’ And so we read in John 15:15, ‘I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends.’
I would like to suggest that this hymn can help us to see Christ’s kingship through the lens of friendship, which means that we act as regents of his kingdom not by pronouncing judgment on others from a distance, but through intimate acts of friendship. Only friendship allows us to judge one another justly. If we want to bring healing to the divisions that surround us, we do well to befriend people, to come to know their hearts—and reveal to them our own. It is in that space that truth, and even judgment, can be received as freedom.
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
This was written as part of a series of daily advent reflections by members of St Bene’t’s church Cambridge. www.stbenetschurch.org/advent