Advent Preparations

Dear Friends in Christ,

Advent invites us to make space and time for light in the midst of darkness, and to prepare our hearts and our minds for the Christ Child. When I think about the Holy Family’s careful preparations for Christ’s birth, I am reminded that sometimes the most powerful spiritual practice (beyond our prayerful preparation) is to simply show up and respond as kindly as we can to the needs that present themselves. Lessons and Carols at 10:30am this Sunday is a way that we practice “showing up” for the story of our salvation—and in doing so, we just might find that story becoming incarnate in us.

Isaiah has been described by many Christian scholars as the “Fifth Gospel”, because it offers so many prophetic and messianic images. It gives a sense of God’s direction, for us and for all of creation. In our reading from the eleventh chapter this Sunday, the book invites us to consider the symbolism and power of water, promising that:

“the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

I spent a lot of time looking at the ocean as my family and I took the train to Boston for Thanksgiving—the stretch from Connecticut through Rhode Island especially involves a lot of time alongside various inlets and harbors. The mystical beauty and vast expanse of the ocean is incomprehensible—just as the sum total of God’s incarnate wisdom is incomprehensible.

Blessings,

John