First Sunday of Advent
Karin Peter, president of seventy
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence-
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil-
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence! -Isaiah 64:1-2
The prophet Isaiah prays for God to reveal God’s divine presence to all the people. It is this presence we await during Advent. In Christian community we wait in symbolic darkness for the light of the world to arrive. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. And as we wait, we prepare to welcome the gift of Jesus into our lives. Not just on Sunday but every day and every place. “God with us” means we welcome Jesus into our relationships and families. Our marketplaces and congregations. Our choices, our giving, and our actions. God with us at work, God with us on Facebook and Twitter. God with us in our kindnesses and our cruelty. God is always present with us, walking with us right into the muck and mire of being human. Through Jesus, the compassionate nature of God as creator and companion is revealed.
During the blur of shopping and wrapping and baking that consumes us in the weeks before Christmas it is easy to become distracted from Advent, the waiting for that which is to come. We forget that we are not just preparing for the celebrations of Christmas Day. As a people of faith, we are waiting for the divine presence to be made real in our midst. This Advent season, may we remember to spend some time resting in the darkness. May we live in deep anticipation of the light. Jesus, Emmanuel. God with us.
Prayer Phrase
God, help me seek peace for me, peace for us, peace for everyone, and peace for our planet. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
The International Community
Find (or imagine) a globe or map of the world. Look at all the nations and find a country other than your own. Notice the geographic distance between your homeland and this one. Picture a person living there. Pray for this person. Sense God’s love connecting you just as the oceans connect the continents. Thank God for the spiritual connection you have with all of God’s people around the globe. Ask a blessing on the church as a community sharing Christ’s peace, drawing all into the family of God.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
