December 1st: Strengthen

Submitted by Elliott Branch

The people of God are a people who wait with a sense of expectation. Abraham and Sarah waited on God’s promise of a son. The Hebrews waited to be free of bondage from Pharaoh and to enter the Promised Land. The Israelites waited in the Babylonian exile to return to Jerusalem.

This Advent, we anticipate the coming of Jesus, that time of already, but not yet. And as we wait for Jesus’ coming, we also await a vaccine for the scourge of COVID-19 and the opportunity to gather together again around the Lord’s table.

Waiting is hard. But waiting provides us with the small, quiet space to discover who God is, who we are, and who is our neighbor. These discoveries can teach us that we are, in the words of Psalm 139, fearfully and wonderfully made; that God is always with us; and that He is often with us through our relationship with each other and all of God’s creation. The lessons source of our strength as the people of God.

In this season of anticipation, let us heed the words of Eucharistic Prayer C, asking God to “deliver us from the presumption of coming this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal.