1st Sunday Advent The light amid the darkness
Where is the light amid the darkness?
Some people, and myself included, find the coming season difficult.
There is a perception. A pressure that we must feel a certain way at Christmas, full of happiness, cheeks all red, full of cheer. We must send out cards, buy the perfect gifts, etc...
And we can’t live up to the pressure, the hype.
Jesus is that light, but this is not a light that is flipped on with a switch, when needed. It is not a magical light that immediately makes everything nice and comfy for us.
See, our faith is not a magic show either. It isn’t something that we attend to every so often to make ourselves feel good, or to try to assuage our inner parent’s voice;
Nor is it something we attend to when we think we need something,
Nor is it something we get as children, then place on a shelf, never to be opened unless nostalgic, like our high school yearbooks.
It is about a turn to the person of Jesus; it is about a vigilance in discerning who Jesus is and what light he brings into our lives.
This is about a real relationship.
If we want the freedom to not be overwhelmed by the seeming chaos of life
If we want to walk amid the darkness, and not be controlled by our fears…
Jesus is the only answer. An answer that requires relationship.
Where is the light?
Jesus is harmony.
The person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human, reveals that we are meant to be with God! That God is with us.
This means that this Chaos we can encounter, the darkness we may experience, God is with us.
God does not do it to us; life simply is hard. We will all go through the hurts of life. We will all have pain. Our hearts will be broken, we will be scared and scarred, disappointed.
God reminds us, through Christ, that we are loved always.
Nothing, Nothing will separate us from that love.
We may forget it, but God never Forgets us. So when these hard time occur, we can get through them. We have the strength.
Maybe a way to prepare ourselves for the light is to reflect upon how we view the Father. Do we think we have to earn the Father’s love through our doing of good works, through our doing of prayer, through our doing our best behavior?
Or are these expressions of our love for him..done out of gratitude.
And then do we think we need to earn the love of others?
Or others need to earn our love?
Where is the light?
Jesus is Hope
That as humanity screwed up royally by executing and murdering the Son of God...the Father forgave us, as revealed in the resurrection. So there is absolutely nothing that the Father will not forgive and let go! So that we can move forward and grow, and be true to who we are as men and women.
We can forget this, and become lost in guilt and shame; never believing we are worthy, and therefore nobody else. Darkness
Maybe a way to prepare this Advent is consider how well, how much we believe in this Good News? Can we believe and accept the Father’s forgiveness, and stop beating ourselves (and others) up for mistakes?
Where is the light?
That light, it is in our scripture, it is in our Traditions, it is in our worship, it is in this community that gathers, it is in our hearts and minds.
It shines all the time, but we need to make ourselves see it.
We must expect it.
Advent becomes a holy time in which to prepare to receive more light into our lives, a light from Christ.
It is a time to prepare by asking who is this Christ for me?
So that at Christmas, and beyond, we have moved forward into a more fuller life. A life in which are engaged with living with others; family, friends, strangers.
A life in which we see darkness, and have fear, but we move into it, knowing God is with us.
Because that Light is within us.
Some people, and myself included, find the coming season difficult.
There is a perception. A pressure that we must feel a certain way at Christmas, full of happiness, cheeks all red, full of cheer. We must send out cards, buy the perfect gifts, etc...
And we can’t live up to the pressure, the hype.
Where is the light amid the darkness?
Some people see all around chaos. Gloom and doom.
Our country seems so confused, with the rise in racism; with such hate being thrown at immigrants and migrants; a those who are poor.
In-fighting amid the institution of the Church; a leadership that seems to have failed to people it was to serve; seeming only concerned with protecting ego and so called power?
Where is the light amid the darkness?
Advent, this time of preparation. A time in our part of the world where literally darkness increases.
Advent prepares us for Hope: our hope is in the Lord.
As darkness increases, the light of the candles increases.
Some people see all around chaos. Gloom and doom.
Our country seems so confused, with the rise in racism; with such hate being thrown at immigrants and migrants; a those who are poor.
In-fighting amid the institution of the Church; a leadership that seems to have failed to people it was to serve; seeming only concerned with protecting ego and so called power?
Where is the light amid the darkness?
Advent, this time of preparation. A time in our part of the world where literally darkness increases.
Advent prepares us for Hope: our hope is in the Lord.
As darkness increases, the light of the candles increases.
The Light amid the darkness.
Jesus is that light, but this is not a light that is flipped on with a switch, when needed. It is not a magical light that immediately makes everything nice and comfy for us.
See, our faith is not a magic show either. It isn’t something that we attend to every so often to make ourselves feel good, or to try to assuage our inner parent’s voice;
Nor is it something we attend to when we think we need something,
Nor is it something we get as children, then place on a shelf, never to be opened unless nostalgic, like our high school yearbooks.
It is about a turn to the person of Jesus; it is about a vigilance in discerning who Jesus is and what light he brings into our lives.
This is about a real relationship.
If we want the freedom to not be overwhelmed by the seeming chaos of life
If we want to walk amid the darkness, and not be controlled by our fears…
Jesus is the only answer. An answer that requires relationship.
Where is the light?
Jesus is harmony.
The person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human, reveals that we are meant to be with God! That God is with us.
This means that this Chaos we can encounter, the darkness we may experience, God is with us.
God does not do it to us; life simply is hard. We will all go through the hurts of life. We will all have pain. Our hearts will be broken, we will be scared and scarred, disappointed.
God reminds us, through Christ, that we are loved always.
Nothing, Nothing will separate us from that love.
We may forget it, but God never Forgets us. So when these hard time occur, we can get through them. We have the strength.
Maybe a way to prepare ourselves for the light is to reflect upon how we view the Father. Do we think we have to earn the Father’s love through our doing of good works, through our doing of prayer, through our doing our best behavior?
Or are these expressions of our love for him..done out of gratitude.
And then do we think we need to earn the love of others?
Or others need to earn our love?
Where is the light?
Jesus is Hope
That as humanity screwed up royally by executing and murdering the Son of God...the Father forgave us, as revealed in the resurrection. So there is absolutely nothing that the Father will not forgive and let go! So that we can move forward and grow, and be true to who we are as men and women.
We can forget this, and become lost in guilt and shame; never believing we are worthy, and therefore nobody else. Darkness
Maybe a way to prepare this Advent is consider how well, how much we believe in this Good News? Can we believe and accept the Father’s forgiveness, and stop beating ourselves (and others) up for mistakes?
Where is the light?
That light, it is in our scripture, it is in our Traditions, it is in our worship, it is in this community that gathers, it is in our hearts and minds.
It shines all the time, but we need to make ourselves see it.
We must expect it.
Advent becomes a holy time in which to prepare to receive more light into our lives, a light from Christ.
It is a time to prepare by asking who is this Christ for me?
So that at Christmas, and beyond, we have moved forward into a more fuller life. A life in which are engaged with living with others; family, friends, strangers.
A life in which we see darkness, and have fear, but we move into it, knowing God is with us.
Because that Light is within us.
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