I wonder if you have given any thought or consideration to the unusual word Maranatha which occurs almost at the end of Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians (16:22)? Perhaps you have puzzled over it. What does it mean?
The word is an Aramaic one - the language spoken by the Jews in our Lord's time in Palestine. It is one of the untranslated words of the New Testament like Ephphatha (be opened) and Aceldama (the field of blood). It is thus a genuinely primitive word and goes back to the very beginning of the Gospel era. The word is a compound word made up of two parts, Maran atha and is connected with the Lord and His coming in glory at the end of time.
Maranatha is really a prayer - "Our Lord come!" It is in similar vein to the prayer with which the New Testament closes - "Amen, even so come Lord Jesus". Here then is an advent prayer and watchword.
It is both an expression of hope and an affirmation of faith. Our faith revolves around two great facts - one in the past, Christ has come; and the other yet in the future - Christ will come. The Second Advent is the complement of the first. We look back with thankfulness to the great work of redemption on the cross and look forward to the consummation of all things, when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ.
The fact that the Apostle Paul uses this Aramaic word means that the expression was well known and understood throughout the various churches of the Roman Empire. He did not consider it necessary to translate it into the Greek language. It had become an accepted Christian password and was in common use by believers everywhere.
Maranatha reminds us that the church of the New Testament days lived in the light of Christ's return. This conviction determined their whole attitude to life and death and the suffering some had to endure in their service for Him. We need to recapture something of this attitude today. Anticipation and longing are expressed in this early Christian prayer. We cannot do better than make it our own - Maranatha - Come, Lord Come.
"With that blessed hope before us,
Let no harp remain unstrung;
Let the mighty advent chorus
Onward roll from tongue to tongue:
Christ is coming!
Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come!"
(J. R. Macduff 1853)