(Unsplash/Aaron Burden)
This Advent season will be different from all the others we've experienced. Those familiar Advent themes of longing for God and waiting in hope take on a special meaning for us in the midst of the storm that surrounds us. As always, God is perhaps giving us a special opportunity this year to grow deeper in hope and stronger in the embrace of God's love.
As St. Paul says, we've each been given a gift to share with the people of God. And each gift is important to the building up of the body of Christ. So, I offer you the gift of these Advent reflections as a way of inviting you to practice hope during this time when hope is being challenged. There's one prayer reflection of each week of Advent, and a final one for Christmas. Let us together enter this season and wait in hope for how our God might reveal the length and breath, the height and depth of divine love for us.
Advertisement
Come, Lord Jesus
The second week of Advent teaches us to call upon the name of Jesus, as did the early Christians. Even without a pandemic storm raging outside, we all have times when feel overwhelmed, when we feel so inadequate to what life is demanding of us. "Come, Lord Jesus" is just another way of saying "Jesus, help me." Some of us don't do so well in admitting that we need help. We imagine ourselves to be pretty self-sufficient, but that is a pretty lonely way to ride. Let us embrace the vulnerability of being human and imperfect.
