Advent Week 1

Advent 2015: Week 1 Reflection

No matter where we intend to travel or journey, if we want to end up in our desired destination in good shape we need a road map, a few signs along the way and something to propel us forward. As we begin our Advent journey together, the readings prompt us to ask ourselves, “What will nourish me on our journey to Bethlehem?” Since this is not our maiden Advent voyage and we don’t travel alone but in community, we come into this season of waiting and preparation pregnant with hope all the while admitting that we still have more to do, more to learn.

The Prophetic voices of the past speak to us today assuring us that God will fulfill all that He has promised. What about us? Can we fulfill all that we have promised to God?
Love and fidelity are the virtues that make a covenant relationship possible.

The crib at the font belongs to the infant King, the Messiah. It should be empty, but it is not. It is full of symbols that represent our consumerism and some things that consume our time and attention. These things may “fill us up” or even make us “satisfied” on a temporary basis. They can even suppress our hunger for God, leaving us out of touch for communion with God in prayer.

Jesus warns us in the Gospel, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.”

The choice is ours: Will what we consume make our hearts drowsy? What will demand our time and our attention? What can possibly steal our gaze from the wonder of the Incarnation?

There is progress to be made as we journey to Bethlehem together.
Let us humbly listen to God’s voice confident that the One whose faithful love knows no bounds will teach us and guide us along the way.

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