Happy New Year! ...no, I’ve not lost it…today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent…the beginning of a new liturgical year in the church’s calendar.
Advent is truly a “wonder-filled” season. We look to the deep blue night sky…shimmering with a billion stars, each one a reminder of the dawn of creation, of the promise of the long awaited savior.
There is a wonderfulness in gazing 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 the 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.
It is a time meant to shake us loose from the ordinariness of our daily lives and to 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 show forth 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 we struggle through the war and devastation in Gaza, Lebanon, South Sudan and Ukraine…and so many other places. And, in the midst of horrible civil strife, poverty and a deep sense of hopelessness, our sisters and brothers flee these wars, violence and terror; they wander the earth in search of a home.
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 our hands to make sure that these refugees and immigrants, and all who wander the earth in search of finding “home”, will be taken in. Let us not allow fear to rule our lives, but rather the love of Christ!
Just as the Holy Family was made refugees by the tyrant Herod, so too these sisters and brothers of ours flee violence and war, let us work to make sure they find a “home,” too! Let us not allow the immensity of the 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 in the midst of these humanitarian crises? As I open my heart to the love of God this Advent season can I also open it to refugees and migrants and speak up on their behalf? How can I make sure my voice is heard amidst all the vitriolic anti racial justice and hate speech? This year let our Advent gift to the world be a promise to work for and pray for peace and justice.
What could be of greater value for a world plagued by religious and political divisions and torn apart by terrorism and war…than to pray and take action for peace and justice, in that we will “prepare the way of the Lord”! “And the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1: 5a)
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
Advent is truly a “wonder-filled” season. We look to the deep blue night sky…shimmering with a billion stars, each one a reminder of the dawn of creation, of the promise of the long awaited savior.
There is a wonderfulness in gazing 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 the 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.
It is a time meant to shake us loose from the ordinariness of our daily lives and to 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 show forth 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 we struggle through the war and devastation in Gaza, Lebanon, South Sudan and Ukraine…and so many other places. And, in the midst of horrible civil strife, poverty and a deep sense of hopelessness, our sisters and brothers flee these wars, violence and terror; they wander the earth in search of a home.
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 our hands to make sure that these refugees and immigrants, and all who wander the earth in search of finding “home”, will be taken in. Let us not allow fear to rule our lives, but rather the love of Christ!
Just as the Holy Family was made refugees by the tyrant Herod, so too these sisters and brothers of ours flee violence and war, let us work to make sure they find a “home,” too! Let us not allow the immensity of the 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 in the midst of these humanitarian crises? As I open my heart to the love of God this Advent season can I also open it to refugees and migrants and speak up on their behalf? How can I make sure my voice is heard amidst all the vitriolic anti racial justice and hate speech? This year let our Advent gift to the world be a promise to work for and pray for peace and justice.
What could be of greater value for a world plagued by religious and political divisions and torn apart by terrorism and war…than to pray and take action for peace and justice, in that we will “prepare the way of the Lord”! “And the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1: 5a)
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
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