Happy New Year!
This Sunday is New Year’s Day! The old year has passed away and a new start begins! Break out the bubbly – wear funny hats and sing Auld Lang Syne!
No, I’m not a month early – this Sunday is New Year’s Day in the church – the first Sunday of Advent – the beginning of a new church year. We begin this new church year in waiting – waiting for the most remarkable event in human history, the arrival of God incarnate (in the flesh) in the person of Jesus Christ. During the four weeks of Advent it is well that we remember that the word is derived from the Latin “adventus,” which means “important arrival.” Yes, a very important arrival as the angels proclaimed in Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!” The Savior is coming – now that is good news! That is a cause for celebration!
The season of Advent consists of four weeks concluding on Christmas Day. It is well that we remember that Advent is not just a season in which we recall and celebrate an important event of the past – Jesus’ birth - but it is also a time where we are in the present and the future. Advent is a time where in the present we bridge the past and the future much like we do when we proclaim the mystery of faith in our Eucharistic Prayer A, “Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.” In this memorial acclamation we rejoice in Jesus’ promise that He will return as confirmed in many verses in the Gospels and Epistles.
When will Jesus return? No one knows, but the larger questions for us who are waiting and preparing are, “What can we do as the body of Christ to bring about God’s reign of justice and peace in the now? What can we do to reorder our lives with the sure and certain acceptance of the gift of God’s unconditional love? What does it mean to live as a church who believes that Jesus is indeed the world’s Savior, and will return to gather all creation unto him when time is fulfilled?”
Each Advent we are reminded of these questions, which in truth are the fundamental questions we consider every day in our faith journey together. Advent is past present and future and visits every aspect of our lives – life and death – judgement and forgiveness – darkness and light – despair and hope – longing and realization – all blended together.
So, let’s get ready, and let’s do it together!
Happy New Year!
This Sunday is New Year’s Day! The old year has passed away and a new start begins! Break out the bubbly – wear funny hats and sing Auld Lang Syne!No, I’m not a month early – this Sunday is New Year’s Day in the church – the first Sunday of Advent – the beginning of a new church year. We begin this new church year in waiting – waiting for the most remarkable event in human history, the arrival of God incarnate (in the flesh) in the person of Jesus Christ. During the four weeks of Advent it is well that we remember that the word is derived from the Latin “adventus,” which means “important arrival.” Yes, a very important arrival as the angels proclaimed in Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!” The Savior is coming – now that is good news! That is a cause for celebration!
The season of Advent consists of four weeks concluding on Christmas Day. It is well that we remember that Advent is not just a season in which we recall and celebrate an important event of the past – Jesus’ birth - but it is also a time where we are in the present and the future. Advent is a time where in the present we bridge the past and the future much like we do when we proclaim the mystery of faith in our Eucharistic Prayer A, “Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.” In this memorial acclamation we rejoice in Jesus’ promise that He will return as confirmed in many verses in the Gospels and Epistles.
When will Jesus return? No one knows, but the larger questions for us who are waiting and preparing are, “What can we do as the body of Christ to bring about God’s reign of justice and peace in the now? What can we do to reorder our lives with the sure and certain acceptance of the gift of God’s unconditional love? What does it mean to live as a church who believes that Jesus is indeed the world’s Savior, and will return to gather all creation unto him when time is fulfilled?”
Each Advent we are reminded of these questions, which in truth are the fundamental questions we consider every day in our faith journey together. Advent is past present and future and visits every aspect of our lives – life and death – judgement and forgiveness – darkness and light – despair and hope – longing and realization – all blended together.
So, let’s get ready, and let’s do it together!
Happy New Year!
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