The church is Advent. The unwrapping of God’s greatest gift is near. God will take away the tinsel and decorate our hearts in hope… For no matter how long the darkness, God will send the Light.
​- From, The Church Year, by Ann Weems (adapted)


​REFLECTION:
​Advent is a time of anticipation; a spiritual preparation for Christmas that embraces anew the journey from darkness to light. “But we already know the entire story of this journey,” you may object. “We know the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus who is the Light. So why should we return to darkness when we already know the Light?”
 
Why? Because we don't fully understand the Light; because we don't fully live in the Light; and because there is still darkness in our world and in our lives. Light is the promise of Advent; it's challenge is that the Light has not fully come. So we must return spiritually again and again to comprehend more of this Light; how it illumines our path, and fulfills our lives.
 
Advent is a journey from darkness to light. Along the way, we catch glimpses of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. On this first Sunday of Advent, we will meditate on Hope. 

Suddenly they saw him the way he was, the way he really was all the time, although they had never seen it before, the glory which blinds the everyday eye and so becomes invisible. This is how he was, radiant, brilliant, carrying joy like a flaming sun in his hands. This is the way he was -- is -- from the beginning, and we cannot bear it. So he manned himself, came manifest to us; and there on the mountain they saw him, really saw him, saw his light.
                               – Madeleine L’Engle

READINGS
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
                              - Revelation 1:4b-8 (NRSV)

The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.
                              - Mark 10.13-16 (The Message)

REFLECTION
On Sunday we will celebrate the reign of Christ, or the universal sovereignty of God in Christ. This reign is more often than not symbolized by resplendent images of power and might, as in Revelation 14b-8. I, however, would like to explore the possibility that such images reveal THAT Christ reigns in glory. If we want to understand HOW Christ reigns, we must look to the humility of Jesus - in whose life and ministry we see God most clearly - a humility that constitutes the very heart of glory. I hope to see you on Sunday at 8:30 or 1030.









On Sunday we will celebrate the reign of Christ, or the universal sovereignty of God in Christ. This reign is more often than not symbolized by resplendent images of power and might, as in Revelation 14b-8. I, however, would like to explore the possibility that such images envision THAT Christ reigns in glory. If we want to understand HOW Christ reigns, we must look to the humility of Jesus - in whose life and ministry we see God most clearly - a humility that constitutes the very heart of glory. I hope to see you on Sunday at 8:30 or 10:30.


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