First Wednesday of Advent
Reflection: Wednesday, Day 4 of Advent
“I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
During this season, we will be meditating on the prophecies of Christ’s Advent, or coming. In this part of Genesis, God is passing judgment on Adam and Eve, the representatives of all humankind, who have just broken his covenant with them. Their life, he says, will now be marked by toil, pain, and death.
But before he says this, he turns his attention to the Serpent who tempted them, pronouncing a curse upon him. At first glance, this reads like a “just-so” story used to explain why people and snakes don’t get along well.
But Christians read this passage as a prophecy of Christ, who will be born of Woman, and who will crush the head of “that old Serpent, the Devil,” as Revelation puts it—even as the Devil strikes at Christ’s heel through the nails of the Cross.
How odd though, that this first glimpse of the Gospel of Christ takes the form of a curse!
Adam and Eve have broken God’s only law after the Devil deceives them through the Serpent, and this means the Serpent, the Woman, and the Man will all know dust, pain, and futility. This is not, at first glance, a terribly hopeful passage.
But I think there are two very good reasons that this is where the first prophecy of Christ is made. One reason is that our sin is what necessitates our redemption, for without the Fall there would be no Descent; no God taking on Flesh. “The Son of Man” comes to earth primarily to pay for our sins—to “destroy the works of the Devil,” as he puts it. Advent, while a joyous waiting for Christ, is also (in part) about recognizing our own sin, helped along by fasts designed to reveal our own selfish tendencies to us—so that we may see that we, too, need a Savior. It is for our sake that the Serpent bruised Christ’s heel.
“How odd…that this first glimpse of the Gospel of Christ takes the form of a curse!”
The other reason is that this curse on the Serpent is part of a longer curse on humankind. It is immediately followed by verses describing the hardships human beings, female and male, will have to endure as a result of their failure to follow God’s commands or respond to his voice. And in all this, Christ is also cursed, for Christ is God become man. In cursing humanity and creation, God is also cursing Christ, who, guiltless, will bear that curse on our behalf, turning the dust, pain, and futility to fruit, healing, and resurrection, not just for him but for all.
Advent
Activities
Take a winter walk if you can, either with family or by yourself. Take note of the brokenness you see, both in creation and in yourself, and offer it up to God.
As you walk, think about that fact that, as Paul says in Romans 8, “Creation groans in longing for the sons of God to be revealed.” All that is currently imperfect will be reset–not like a computer, but like a broken bone–a healing that requires mercy and correction. Thank God for beginning this process in Christ, for continuing it through the Church and the Holy Spirit (even when we only see glimmers of it), and for his second Advent, when he will reveal all the beauty that he has worked into us and the world, even through suffering and seeming futility.
Taken from the daily office
Daily Scripture & Prayer
First Lesson: Genesis 3
Second Lesson: Luke 1:26-38
Lord God, we adore you because you have come to us in the past.
You have spoken to us in the Law of Israel.
You have challenged us in the words of the prophets.
You have shown us in Jesus what you are really like.
Lord God, we adore you because you still come to us now.
You come to us through other people and their love and concern for us.
You come to us through men and women who need our help.
You come to us as we worship you with your people.
Lord God, we adore you because you will come to us at the end.
You will be with us at the hour of death.
You will still reign supreme when all human institutions fail.
You will still be God when our history has run its course.
We welcome you, the God who comes.
Come to us now in the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
– Caryl Micklem, “Contemporary Prayers for Public Worship”
Literature
Gerard Manley Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur”
Advent Song
Taize, “Wait for the Lord”
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