I have stumbled onto a song for Advent. It's not found in the hymnal, and I doubt it's on the top 10 list of choruses. The lyrics remind me of one of the qualities of Advent: "Waiting."
Entitled "Waiting on the World to Change," and sung by John Mayer, the lyrics are
me and all my friends we're all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and there's no way we ever could
now we see everything that's going wrong
with the world and those who lead it
we just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it
so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change
it's hard to beat the system
when we're standing at a distance
so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
now if we had the power to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door
and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information,
oh they can bend it all they want
that's why we're waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change
it's not that we don't care,
we just know that the fight ain't fair
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change
and we're still waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change
one day our generation is gonna rule the population
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change
Mayer's lyrics are an apology for his (my?) generation's response to the world as it stands now. He lists various reasons/excuses while we are just waiting for the world to change. Westand for something, but it's hard to get a foothold in a world full of frustrations, problems, and issues. Mayer's solution is to wait.
In Advent, we wait; but we do not wait for the world to change. It already has. Jesus came, died, and was resurrected. That's the good news. In Advent, we await his return. And while we're waiting for the world to change again, we are not sitting back apathetically hoping for another solution. We live responsibly, worship the Christ, do our best, and trust in the God of the past, present, and future.
This message gives hope to those who live in despair about the problems of the world and can motivate people who do not think there is any way they can make a difference. Jesus said my kingdom does not have to break in politically, militarily, or even commercially. It arrives quietly in backlot mangers, through desert travelers looking at the heavens, and illiterate shepherds seeing angels. That's what faith is about. It's something to believe in while we're waiting.
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