Good day from Medford on our (liturgical) New Year’s Day – the First Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is the beginning of our celebration and preparation for the annual remembrance of Christ’s birth and hope for Christ’s second coming.
Our invitation to worship is a prayer asking for God’s grace to bring and shine light through us in the world and that in humility we can find everlasting life. Our first lesson from the prophet Isaiah reminds us that God’s kingdom is more prominent than our human aspirations and that God calls all to relationship. The psalmist echoes the sentiment, that God’s house is the place where joy is found. The New Testament reading from Romans encourages us to recognize each day we are closer to our salvation and that we should work every day to refocus on salvation for all. Our Gospel from Matthew tells us that we can’t know when the end really will arrive and that we must live life understanding that we will have to continue to work until the end.
As we begin our liturgical year again, we are cautioned against chasing elusive knowledge of when things will happen, or if they will happen. Our life of faith helps us overcome both anxiety about not being able to have or know everything and the apathy which may be found in relegating life to the seemingly incessant pursuit of better things. Our time in Advent allows us to stop, step back, and breathe with expectation that God is in control of “fleeting time” and that, when we exercise patience, we will see God’s grace and salvation more clearly than the world imagines. Our time in Advent is time where we take a breath and let God control the stuff which doesn’t matter, so we can focus on the stuff that does.
How will you use the time offered in Advent to let God take away anxiety and indifference as you wait with expectation that Christ is coming again? I invite your comments,
Les+
Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44
Sermon link: https://audiomack.com/fatherles-2/song/advent-1-sermon-1
