Hello –
This Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, the season marked by the four Sundays before Christmas. We shift to the color purple, the creche will be in the Narthex, there will be a beautiful set of four Advent candles at the front of the church and, because it is the beginning of the Christian year, we shift from reading the Gospel Mark to the Gospel of Luke.
These are among the shifts we perceive on the surface of our worship. But, as with all of our annual Christian seasons, there’s an invitation for each of us to also make a subtle interior shift. Inside, we are to shift from the simple gratitude of Ordinary time to the yearning of Advent.
The yearning we are invited to feel is like wearing bifocals. We look down, and we look forward to the baby we know is coming soon. We look up, and we look out for the one who has told us he will return to make all things right. We don’t know the day or the hour when he will return, but our master teaches us to stay alert at all times. And so, especially in this season of Advent, we keep watch and always say in our hearts, ‘come, Lord Jesus.’
It is simple. Come this Sunday and nurture the quiet and steadfast practice of yearning for Jesus.
Blessings,
Christopher
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