December 2019 opens with the first Sunday of Advent, the latest Advent can fall in any given year. Over the next few weeks I’m going to be posting reflective material for the four Sundays, as well as for Christmas Eve (the fourth Sunday of Advent) and Christmas Day.
First, from my 2010 book A Most Amazing Man (Year A):
Reading
But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. Matthew 24:36, 44
The meditation of Thomas, disciple of Jesus
‘How long will it be?’ we asked him.
‘How long before the end of the age,
the dawn of his kingdom,
when wrongs will be righted
and good triumph over evil?’
We wanted answers,
the time and place spelt out,
so that we’d know where we stood
and could plan ahead accordingly.
Yet he not only wouldn’t say –
he couldn’t,
for he didn’t have the answer himself.
That seemed strange at first,
but it shouldn’t have,
for it made us trust in the Father,
just as he did.
And if we had known,
if we could have pinned down the time of his coming –
ten, fifty, a hundred years –
what would have been our response?
Would devotion have faded,
only to return as the day drew near?
Would we have lived for the present
until the future was upon us?
Who can say?
But ultimately it was the wrong question,
for the kingdom starts now,
growing within,
to be lived as much as proclaimed,
celebrated today as well as expected tomorrow.
Lose sight of that and, however ready we may feel,
we’ll never be prepared for his coming.
Prayer
Eternal God,
help us to know you now,
love you now,
serve you now –
to live each day as your people,
seeking and honouring your will.
Open our hearts to the reality of your kingdom among us
and teach us more of your way,
so that in everything we do, think and say
we may work to help it grow,
bringing your purpose to fruition.
Learning from all you have done and will yet do,
help us to trust you in the present,
consecrating each moment in faithful discipleship,
to the glory of your name.
Amen.
Father, hear our prayer.
Amen.
Reblogged this on Abide In God and commented:
Reblog from Nick Fawcett – pastor, poet and author.