This weekend we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent…the beginning of the church’s liturgical year…so Happy New Year! Advent is truly a “wonder-filled” season. We look to the dark, deep blue night sky…shimmering with a million stars, each one a reminder of the dawn of creation…of the promise of the long awaited savior. There is something about staring up at the night sky… something awe inspiring and spiritual in nature; it calls us to look beyond ourselves.
Advent is a time to “make time”…in the midst of all the commercialism, in the midst of all of chaos that we call “the holiday rush”, we are called to slow down, to stand back and to reflect…to take time to allow the wonder of the Great Christmas Event to settle into our souls…to shake us loose from the ordinariness of our daily lives and allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the awe and wonder of the Incarnation…the fact that our God so deeply loves us and that God’s very self became human to prove that love to us. That love is for you…just as you are! This amazing love is for all of God’s creation, for all peoples and for the earth itself!
This Advent we find ourselves in the midst of one the largest humanitarian crises in recent memory, as our sisters and brothers flee war and terror, they wander the earth in search of a home. And here in our own country many immigrants, people of color, women, Jews, Muslims, people of the LGBTQ community and refugees are fearful of being targets of hate crimes. As we reflect on the wonder and awe of God’s amazing love for the earth and all humanity let us raise our voices and act in ways to make sure that all of our sisters and brothers feel respected and safe. Let us not allow this national moral crisis to paralyze us and convince us we can do nothing, for in Christ we can do all things.
What can I do this Advent to help those feeling particularly vulnerable and fearful? How can I reach out to build bridges across the chasm of those who seek an inclusive and kind society and those who seek to exclude and demean “the other”? Let us “prepare the way of the Lord” through prayer and action!
Advent Blessings,
Fr. Tim
Advent is a time to “make time”…in the midst of all the commercialism, in the midst of all of chaos that we call “the holiday rush”, we are called to slow down, to stand back and to reflect…to take time to allow the wonder of the Great Christmas Event to settle into our souls…to shake us loose from the ordinariness of our daily lives and allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the awe and wonder of the Incarnation…the fact that our God so deeply loves us and that God’s very self became human to prove that love to us. That love is for you…just as you are! This amazing love is for all of God’s creation, for all peoples and for the earth itself!
This Advent we find ourselves in the midst of one the largest humanitarian crises in recent memory, as our sisters and brothers flee war and terror, they wander the earth in search of a home. And here in our own country many immigrants, people of color, women, Jews, Muslims, people of the LGBTQ community and refugees are fearful of being targets of hate crimes. As we reflect on the wonder and awe of God’s amazing love for the earth and all humanity let us raise our voices and act in ways to make sure that all of our sisters and brothers feel respected and safe. Let us not allow this national moral crisis to paralyze us and convince us we can do nothing, for in Christ we can do all things.
What can I do this Advent to help those feeling particularly vulnerable and fearful? How can I reach out to build bridges across the chasm of those who seek an inclusive and kind society and those who seek to exclude and demean “the other”? Let us “prepare the way of the Lord” through prayer and action!
Advent Blessings,
Fr. Tim
RSS Feed
