Isaiah 64:1-9, I Corinthians 1:3-9 and Mark 13:24-37
As I write this, there is no doubt the holiday season is upon us. Christmas decorations are up! Trees are lit up in windows! And the catalogues come in stacks!
Poor Advent is often overlooked. But as worshippers we will hear and live out of the scriptures for the next four Sundays which speak of preparation, watchfulness, hope. We will be somewhat like a child seeing a Christmas package under the tree, and wistfully waiting for the day to arrive to open it!
Much of life is waiting and preparing. And an attitude develops for both living life to the fullest in that waiting time while believing the arrival of the future will be even better than now. How true is the expression, “the best is yet to be?” That is always answered by a lived out faith. Some of the waiting time is quite rough at times and we can only trust that it will be better. And the trust is always in the character of God: loving, merciful, steadfast, beyond words, Spirit and Truth.
So, Advent is as wondrous as Christmas in its own way. We just need to “stay alert” as Mark 13 of insists, and realize we have the means (gifts) to go forward based on I Corinthians 1:3-9, and that Isaiah 64:1-9 declares “God WORKS for those who wait for God.”
So, Christmas is there in Advent for sure! Hidden perhaps but still as real as the day of Christmas, as real as anytime the Kingdom of God shows up in our present life.
Blessings in the weeks ahead! Stay well, stay safe, pay attention to God’s calling upon your life in this most wondrous season!
Pastor Barry