The season of Advent begins the celebration of the Incarnation of Christ that continues through the season of Epiphany with the culmination at the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain with Moses, Elijah, and the Disciples gazing in disbelief. Advent is a path for our hearts to open again to the complete gift of incarnation. Lighting the candles on the Advent wreathe we are reminded to:
- Hope even amid the darkness.
- Listen for the Voice of peace inviting us into God’s Shalom.
- Experience joy even in uncertainty and sorrow.
- Join God’s self-emptying love for humankind.
More than a sweet tradition, these four weeks are meant to teach us how to offer our assent, like Mary, to be vessels for the birth of Christ.
Some years we follow the lighted path of the candles and Advent feels fresh and other times we get to Christmas and feel we missed it entirely.
God is with you either way.
When we do not sense vitality in worship. When the scriptures seem weird instead of offering deep wisdom. When our hearts stand at a distance from all that is happening, God asks, can we still trust God is with us? Whether you are singing with gusto and loving the sermons or feeling a little dead inside, can you trust that both experiences are God’s way of relating to you and bringing you new life?
Incarnation is God’s invitation to the vitality of Spirit which is always new and emerging life within our lives just as they are.
Sometimes in life, we are lost inside the hard press of what is going on, and other times we sense all the golden goodness of life. Either way, God invites our connection with our deep loving life-giving purpose found in God’s life.
Don’t be fooled by your feelings. Instead join Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Anna and Simeon, The Shepherds, the Wisemen, the Disciples, John the Baptist, and all humankind in the struggle – the struggle of living and knowing God is – God is with us – God is our hope – God is our peace – God is overflowing joy – God is self -emptying love. And we are the children of God, heirs of everlasting hope even when we do not sense it.
by the Rev. Lisa Senuta
835 SW Polk St.