Advent Reflections: Day 5 – Why God the Father did not Send Christ the Son Sooner and What We Can Do?

 Mark 13:33-37; Deuteronomy 4:1-10

In yesterday’s reflection, we were reminded that God the Father was already thinking of sending His only begotten Son, Christ, to us, way back when He was kicking out Adam and Eve for disobeying what He had told them not to do, based on Genesis 3:15. And it was also when God was angry at Satan in the figure of snake for making Adam and Eve disobey Him by lying and tempting.

We do not know exact year when God the Father kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden and shut the entrance of the garden for good. But we know it was a very long time ago. It was even before David, even before Moses, even before Abram, and even before Noah.

So, the question is – why God did not send Christ mush sooner, perhaps, when Adam and Eve were still in the garden of Eden to get rid of Satan right on the spot?

Why God delayed the coming of Christ for way too long?

It’s not just God’s plan to have Christ come that seems to be delayed.

When God saved the Israelites from their suffering from slavery in Egypt through Passover (Exodus 12-14), God did not deliver them to the Promised Land immediately. The way God led them to the promised land was through 40 years of journeying in the wilderness (desert) (Joshua 5:6), and this is described in detail in the Book of Numbers.  It did not have to be that long, right?

But why? Why God let his deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land take so long? Why God did not make the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land (and this journey is called Exodus) much shorter and in less time?

So, likewise, why did God let the coming of Christ be delayed way too long, from the time when Adam and Eve were still in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) to when Caesar Augustus, Roman Emperor, ruled the Israelites (Luke 2:1)?

To simply put, it was probably because God wanted only the finest people to be saved. By not making His deliverance and salvation so easy, only those who can remain patient and vigilant (paying special attention), because of strong faith, can be benefited by God’s care.

During the 40 years of challenging journey in the wilderness, only those whose faith was strong and therefore could endure the journey made it to the Promised Land, while those whose faith was not so strong perished. In the same way, God has been testing us for generations to see who can stand strong and remain patient, as well as vigilant, with strong faith can see Christ’s coming and arrival. And, only those who remained patient, vigilant, and strong throughout the time, keeping strong faith, can enjoy meeting Christ at his arrival. 

So, we know, just because God had thought of sending Christ to us, it does not mean that he would come right away, as we may think. Christ comes as God the Father intends to. And, it may seem delayed or too long, but the coming of Christ is not delayed according to the will of God the Father (2 Peter 3:1-10).

So, God the Father has said to the Israelites during Exodus – while they were in the wilderness through Moses from Mt. Sinai – in the hope that they would make it all the way to the Promised Land:

Be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live, but make them known to your children and to your children’s children, that day you stood before the Lord, your God (Deuteronomy 4:9-10a).

In a similar way, Christ the Son also said (as reflected on the First Sunday of Advent, Cycle B):

Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: “Watch!” (Mark 13:33-37).

No matter how delayed and how long it may seem, let us not make ourselves tired of waiting for the coming of Christ. Let us keep our strong faith so that we can stay watchful all the time, guarding ourselves from temptations to fall asleep or drift away from Christ. Remember, God wants only the best to meet Christ and be saved and let him destroy Satan. So, we are tested for the strengths of our faith – to see if we can remain on guard.