Skip to main content

Advent - A Time of Waiting

 

Happy New Year!!

Woo-hoo!  It is a new year!  Wait?  You say no, it’s a month away?  You say, Pastor Joyce we haven’t Christmas yet.  Hmm, call the board together, something is wrong with our pastor.  Let me say it again, Happy New Year!

Let me ask you a question, how do you know when the New Year is?  Your answer is probably because the calendar says so.  But there are other new year celebrations.  Probably the one we are most familiar with is Chinese New Year.  There is a Muslim New Year.  The Jewish New Year is celebrated Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.  Countries like Thailand, Iran, and the Russian Orthodox church all have unique timing for celebrations.

Time is a slave.  We are slaves to our calendars.  We are slaves to the tyranny of the clock.  You know the sayings: Time and tide waits for no man.  Time is money.  Don’t waste your time.  Time is the most valuable thing a person can spend.  And the list goes on.

Advent is the beginning of the liturgical new year.  Yes.  With the first Sunday of Advent we mark the beginning of the new year with a theme of waiting.  While you are familiar with the advent candles and wreaths with their themes of Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love.  You know the readings.  You’ve heard the words all your life.  But really, what does advent really mean?  Why does the church have this marker of time?

Advent is a time of waiting and preparation.  It is a time of expectation.  Remember when you were a child and couldn’t wait for Christmas Day?  As the days passed, perhaps marked by an Advent calendar, you counted off how many days until Christmas.

What are you preparing for this Advent?  Is it all about presents and baking – decorating and buying?  Or is it about Jesus?  Oh, we all know the right answer is Jesus!  That’s an easy question.  But how are your preparing spiritually for the coming of Jesus, not the Jesus in the manger but the Jesus who is coming again.

Christ has Died, Christ is Risen, CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.  We confess this simple creedal statement at communion.  That’s what the preparation time is for!

How are you preparing?  Happy New Year, it is time to be like the five wise virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) and prepare for CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”  Matthew 25:13

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Til The Storm Passes By

It’s almost fall.   Labor Day, the official end of summer is here.   Kids are already back in school.   Soon we’ll be drinking pumpkin spice, talking about Halloween, Turkey Shoots, and then Christmas.   This year is going very fast.   We had all hoped that 2021 would be better than 2020, and maybe it has, and maybe it hasn’t.   Depends on who you ask.   Whether one is worse then the other doesn’t really matter.   It’s rough right now. The last Sunday of August we prayed about Covid, Afghanistan, the devastating floods in Waverly, Hurricane Ida and a host of other local concerns.   I sometimes feel at a loss to know how to pray.   I feel ineffective.   As I prayerfully considered this writing for the Pastor’s Pen, I considered all these things that we as a country are dealing with and I watched the whipping winds of Ida tearing through Louisiana.   I feel overwhelmed as a pastor for all the needs we have in front of us. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sunday is Coming

  Romans 5:4-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces  perseverance;  and perseverance,  character; and character, hope.  5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Tomorrow we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.   How glorious Easter is – Alleluia, HE IS RISEN!!   We are people who have hope because death was defeated.   The resurrection of our Lord is the most important element of our faith. I know that all of us experience tragedy and loss.   I have hopefully been able to provide some comfort to some of you who have experienced grief and loss over the years I have served you as pastor.   It is no secret that our family has suffered another terrible tragedy.   You have been with me through the death of my great granddaughter, the death of my grandson thr...
Post a Comment
Read more

He Calls Your Name

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”   Jesus said to her, “Mary!” (John 20:15-16 NLT) It had been th e worse week of Mary’s life.   She had followed Jesus.   She had heard His words of life. He had seen the love of God displayed in the flesh.   Jesus, the one who associated with sinners.   Jesus, the one who healed the sick.   Jesus, the one who raised the dead.   Jesus, who taught so powerfully and told of a kingdom to come.   And he was dead.   She saw it with her own eyes as He breathed His last.   The agony of hearing My God, My God why have you forsaken me from His parched lips.   In the pre-dawn hours she hurries to go and anoint His body.   What else could she do?   He had given her so much.   Her grief was immeasurabl...
Post a Comment
Read more