Advent 1
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
-- Matthew 24:36
Each year we begin Advent caught in the tension between the expectations of our faith and the ordinariness of life. Because we have been here so often before, it is hard to escape the routine of the season and open ourselves to the real expectations of the coming of the Son of Man. We are like those in the days of Noah who "were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage" without any awareness of the critical movements of God. The people in Noah's time knew the state of their society, like we do, but they did not expect anything new to happen. Matthew was clear that the people of faith were not given any special insight or clues to predict what would happen. The difference for believers is that we know that it could happen and therefore we live in hope. Advent invites us to live as if Christ might come again this year. The celebration of the birth of Jesus is an affirmation that God does enter time in order to alter the course of events. It is also a warning that most of the surrounding community will be unaware of the divine presence. Living with the expectation of divine visitation alters the way we perceive all events. If Christ were to come tomorrow, what would you want to be doing at the time of his coming? How would a church want to be behaving? "Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."
-- Matthew 24:36
Each year we begin Advent caught in the tension between the expectations of our faith and the ordinariness of life. Because we have been here so often before, it is hard to escape the routine of the season and open ourselves to the real expectations of the coming of the Son of Man. We are like those in the days of Noah who "were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage" without any awareness of the critical movements of God. The people in Noah's time knew the state of their society, like we do, but they did not expect anything new to happen. Matthew was clear that the people of faith were not given any special insight or clues to predict what would happen. The difference for believers is that we know that it could happen and therefore we live in hope. Advent invites us to live as if Christ might come again this year. The celebration of the birth of Jesus is an affirmation that God does enter time in order to alter the course of events. It is also a warning that most of the surrounding community will be unaware of the divine presence. Living with the expectation of divine visitation alters the way we perceive all events. If Christ were to come tomorrow, what would you want to be doing at the time of his coming? How would a church want to be behaving? "Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."
