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From the Rector Dear Friends, As we enter Advent, I have been thinking about the importance of
waiting as an expression of our trust in God. Our lives are so
filled with activities and responsibilities that we do not take
time for waiting. If we do have to wait, at a traffic light or in
line at the grocery store or even at a 'drive-thru' for
fast food, we fidget; we are anxious; we are mentally moving on to
the next destination. Advent slows us down. It bids us to pay attention, to develop
patience, to trust God. It calls us to look to the future - by
living in the present. Scripture says that "when the fullness of time had come,
God sent his son, born of a woman" (Gal. 4:4). "The
fullness of time...." is (pun intended) a pregnant phrase:
when time had filled up, when things were ready, when all that
needed to happen had happened. Then Jesus was born on the first
Christmas, but not until. Birth takes time. When each of us was being formed in our
mother's womb, we grew very slowly. We had no trouble waiting
then. We had time to grow, to be formed by our Creator, to become
full enough - to be born in the fullness of time. Advent invites us to heed again the fullness of time, time which
moves steadily, but slowly along; time which is not merely linear
and shallow, one unrelated event after another; but time in which
God is working his purpose out, bringing things to their fullness.
Advent particularly points us to the fullness of God in the person
of Jesus Christ, who came to us at the first Christmas and who will
come to us again at the end of time. Advent focuses us on
Jesus' comings. We prepare for his coming in three significant ways. The first
is at church. We take time to worship God using the liturgies of
Advent. The purple vestments, the scripture readings, the hymns and
prayers, and communion, all immerse us in the mystery of Jesus'
coming. Although Christmas is already in full bloom in the stores,
the Advent liturgy preserves for us a sense of expectation and
anticipation. The second is at home. Lighting the candles of an Advent wreath
(adding one each week), accompanied by the collect for the Sunday
and/or the singing of "O Come, O come Emmanuel" helps us
to wait. By the fourth week the completed circle of candles marks
and signifies the fullness of time. Advent calendars and other
personal or family traditions, e.g.,- buying presents for needy
children, are also good ways of getting ready for the
Lord. The third preparation is in our hearts. Isaiah's words,
"Prepare ye the way of the Lord" urge us to straighten
out God's paths within us. We are to repent of anything
standing between God and us: our pride, our hard-heartedness, our
lack of forgiveness and generosity, our trusting only in ourselves.
The Great Litany, used in our parish on the second Sunday of
Advent, the confession, and our own personal examination of
conscience are all ways to ask forgiveness for anything that
prevents Jesus' coming to us. It is difficult for us for the last month of the calendar year
to be a time of waiting and preparation. So many activities and
responsibilities press us into a survival mode. But Advent, the
beginning of the liturgical year, offers us a different
opportunity. Through corporate worship, home devotions, and
personal prayer, it calls us to wait, to prepare, to expect the
Lord's coming. - Stephen Send
items for inclusion in future "Cross Roads." © 2005 The Chapel of the Cross |