The season of Advent speaks powerfully and poignantly to our innermost longings. Political leaders continue to promise more than they can deliver. Political turmoil, violence and corruption remain sad realities in many countries in the world, including on the continent of Africa. In Kenya, my part of the world, religious leaders take advantage of the various longings in people’s lives by promising “get-to-heaven-quick schemes” as part of their “get-rich-quick schemes.” Confused by over-realized theologies of the end times, innocent and perhaps ignorant people will sell everything they have to cash in on the promises of health, wealth and success. The world’s ideologies are a third contender for the satisfaction of people’s longings. What seems intellectually compelling still leaves us spiritually vacuous, for the longing of humanity is deeper than the latest intellectual fads. C. S. Lewis put it best when he said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”[1] Where, then, can our longings be fulfilled?

Our wait for fulfilment coincides with the wait of Matthew’s community. Both “waitings” find their fulfilment in Jesus, the suffering servant-king. In Matthew 8:14–17, we find Jesus doing what He does best—satisfying both the temporal and spiritual needs of people, by healing His friend’s (Peter’s) mother. We learn, too, that His mission was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 53:4–5). This passage anticipates one who suffers but does so bearing the griefs, sorrows and penalties of others. It speaks so powerfully and relevantly to our deep longings as it points to Jesus as one who is like us in knowing suffering but also one who brings us relief—peace and healing—from our suffering. Indeed, the wonderful reality of the incarnation is that the great God came down to our ordinary sin-stricken world to do something about it!

The hymn “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” puts these realities in both beautiful contrast and beautiful words:

Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end.
By his life he brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.

In that last phrase, the hymnist beautifully describes one who does not just listen to our “rants” like our ordinary friends or take advantage of our needs like a politician or religious swindler but truly satisfies our longings through His threefold mission:

• To redeem us from sin by taking its penalty upon Himself (Isaiah 53:5)
• To shepherd us through the ups and downs of life’s journey (John 10:10–14)
• To befriend us in the restored relationship we now have with Him (John 15:13–15)

This mission of Christ provides a longed-for reprieve in our human experiences. So, to us who struggle with the guilt and consequences of our sins, Jesus is able to redeem us and free us. To those who go through the rough storms of life, Jesus may calm the storm but will surely shepherd us through the storms we face—and all of life—by His Word and Spirit. To those whose relationships have been destroyed through abuse, violence or abandonment, Jesus sits right beside us, empathizing with us and providing the care and comfort we deeply long for. As we focus on and sing about these great realities during Advent, Jesus changes our perspective and strengthens our resolve to bear His same redemption, shepherding and friendship to a longing world today.

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[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Touchstone, 1996), 121.