Make this Advent a holy season by steeping yourself in the Word. An Advent Reader 2010 lists the daily lectionary readings for Advent through Epiphany and includes space for personal reflection.
Dowload your copy at An Advent Reader 2010.
An Advent Reader 2010 is intended for personal use only, and not intended for sale.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Setting Our House To Rights
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they read a book. Some read carefully, page by page, to the very end. Others read very quickly, skipping over the details, to get to the end. Some are not even that patient. Some read the last chapter, then go back to the beginning, secure in the knowledge that all will end well. Advent is a lot like reading a book. You already know what's happening at the end: Christmas and Epiphany. Since you already know the ending, what is the purpose of Advent?
Advent has often been referred to as “little Lent.” It shares, traditionally, the same parament color—purple—which indicates a time of reflection and penitence. This tradition echoes the message of John the Baptist whose teachings about his cousin were more warnings than celebrations. (Matthew 3:1-12) At first glance, John the Baptist seems like the classroom “lookout” who stands at the door and warns his misbehaving classmates, “Teacher's coming!” And he was, in a way.
But let's look at this from a different angle. How many of us, when informed that an important guest would be arriving soon, would diligently work toward “setting our house to rights”? It's just the normal thing to do. How different is our earthly house from our spiritual “house”? The King is coming; we know of a certainty. In the time before His arrival, we can set our souls to rights: we can put aside the fear and anger that weigh us down; we can marinate ourselves in His Word; we can share the light of the King in a darkened world; we can be the voice of love and praise in our communities of faith; and we can, amid the carols and the concerts and the shopping and the “busyness,” find that “thin space” where we feel the real presence of our Heavenly Father.
The King is coming; we believe it. Let's believe it enough to prepare for His coming.
Resources
Mershman, Francis. "Advent." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 21 Nov. 2010.
Advent has often been referred to as “little Lent.” It shares, traditionally, the same parament color—purple—which indicates a time of reflection and penitence. This tradition echoes the message of John the Baptist whose teachings about his cousin were more warnings than celebrations. (Matthew 3:1-12) At first glance, John the Baptist seems like the classroom “lookout” who stands at the door and warns his misbehaving classmates, “Teacher's coming!” And he was, in a way.
But let's look at this from a different angle. How many of us, when informed that an important guest would be arriving soon, would diligently work toward “setting our house to rights”? It's just the normal thing to do. How different is our earthly house from our spiritual “house”? The King is coming; we know of a certainty. In the time before His arrival, we can set our souls to rights: we can put aside the fear and anger that weigh us down; we can marinate ourselves in His Word; we can share the light of the King in a darkened world; we can be the voice of love and praise in our communities of faith; and we can, amid the carols and the concerts and the shopping and the “busyness,” find that “thin space” where we feel the real presence of our Heavenly Father.
The King is coming; we believe it. Let's believe it enough to prepare for His coming.
Resources
Mershman, Francis. "Advent." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 21 Nov. 2010
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