Advent is a time of waiting with great hope and joy; it is a time of celebrating the Christ-child who came, the Christ-man who lived, and the Christ who will come again to this world. It is a time of reflection and remembering; prayer and awe; chorus and community. Advent is a season of family, of food, of friends, of gifts given and gifts received; Advent is, too often, the time of the year when we truly remember who it is we are as members of the body of Christ, and why it is we are members of that same body.
Some of my favorite songs sung in our congregation center on this simple phrase, "Prepare the Way." This simple phrase with a deep theological and overtly practical meaning. Prepare the Way. What does that mean in our churches, in our world, in our country, in our lives? What does it mean this particular season of Advent?
This year my church is traveling a journey of praying through Advent together. We have put together a small book to guide us, including words of Scripture, words of our Church Fathers and Mothers, and words of our community. I am excited for this journey together, and for what it may ignite in our community for the rest of our seasons together.
But as this season of Advent begins, I am also a bit trepidatious (if that word can even be used in this context). The past few months have not been easy ones, with the mountain of school work, the intensity of my job-work, and what is apparently a larger battle with being healthy than I thought. Tonight, this is cause for reflection on what it means for me, Megan, to prepare the way for the coming Christ in my own life. It seems to me that there are things that will need changing...
3 comments:
A weird thought that just popped into my head after reading the last portion of your post:
Sometimes (SOMETIMES!) preparing the way of the Lord in our own lives means giving, sharing love, and pouring it out into others' lives. It prepares our own hearts to love God, love Others & serve the World.
Funny thing, too, it blesses us in a sense of purpose and confirmation of God's gifts in our lives.
Thanks again for all your work on our prayer book. I'm loving it and am really excited to see where it leads us as a community. Now... get better!
First of all, I really wanted to show my admiration for your use of the word trepidatious in this post...although I'm pretty sure it's not a word, it was quite descriptive nonetheless.
Also, I'm not sure if you knew that I had started a new blog, but I wanted to make its presence known... :)
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