A turning point is an event that inaugurates substantial change, such as the Battles of Saratoga and Gettysburg or the Eagles’ “Philly Special” trick play in Super Bowl LII. The change is decisive – the future takes an unexpected path that would not have worked out otherwise. Its synonyms – climax, watershed, milestone – lack the critical element of beginning something new that might not have been.
With Advent, we prepare for the biggest turning point the universe has ever seen: the Incarnation of the Son of God. The world was languishing in sin with no hope, no prospects for renewal. “All things are full of weariness,” laments the Book of Ecclesiastes. “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.” (1:8-9)
The birth of Christ permanently altered the human story. No longer is there politics without a goal. No longer is there suffering without meaning. No longer is there death without the prospect of a greater life to come.
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