- We want to be renewed in a sense that Jesus came to save us from our sin and death.
- We want to experience his coming to us now, in our everyday lives, to help us live our lives with meaning and purpose.
- And we want to prepare for his coming to meet us at the end of our lives on this earth.
When we wake up, each day this week, we could pause for a minute at the side of our bed, or while putting on our slippers or our robe, and light an inner candle. Who among us doesn't have time to pause for a moment? We could each find our own way to pray something like this:
“Lord, the light I choose to let into my life today is based on my trust in you. It is a weak flame, but I so much desire that it dispel a bit more darkness today. Today, I just want to taste the longing I have for you as I go to the meeting this morning, carry out the responsibilities of my work, face the frustration of some difficult relationships. Let this candle be my reminder today of my hope in your coming.”
Each morning this week, that momentary prayer might get more specific, as it prepares us for the day we will face. And as we head to work, walk to a meeting, rush through lunch, take care of errands, meet with people, pick up the phone to return some calls, answer e-mail, return home to prepare a meal, listen to the ups and downs of our loved ones' day, we can take brief moments to relate our desire for the three comings of the Lord to our life.
If you have an Advent wreath, pause as you light the first candle on the wreath, or pause to pray together our normal grace. Then, as we begin to eat, we can invite each other, including the children, to say something about what it means today to light this first candle.
Perhaps we could ask a different question each night, or ask about examples from the day.
- How am I getting in touch with the longing within me?
- How did I prepare today?
- What does it mean to prepare to celebrate his coming 2,000 years ago?
- How can we prepare to experience his coming into our lives this year?
- What does it mean for us now, with our world involved in so much conflict?
- How are we being invited to trust more deeply?
- How much more do we long for his coming to us, in the midst of the darkness in our world?
- In what ways can we renew our lives so we might be prepared to greet him when he comes again?
And every night this week, we can pause briefly, perhaps as we sit for a minute at the edge of the bed. We can be aware of how that one, small candle's worth of desire brought light into this day. And we can give thanks. Going to bed each night this week with some gratitude is part of the preparation for growing anticipation and desire.
Come, Lord Jesus! Come and visit your people.
We await your coming. Come, O Lord.
Jeremiah 33:14 - 16
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promiseI made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it[c] will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
1 Thessalonians 3:9 - 13
9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
Luke 21:25-36
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Mancoming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
The centuries after Jeremiah's time enable us to hope with even greater confidence, since we can see how God has worked through other times of crisis to give the church an even broader vision and renewed strength.
Paul's letter to the Thessalonians is more personal. He writes to friends to speak of the joy that pervades his life and theirs. That joy came to them as they came to know Christ as Savior, and they awaited his return with joy. Paul would encourage us to find our joy in the local community, in the immediate challenges that we face with friends and fellow workers. Joy begins where we are.
The Gospel reading (Luke) sets our hope in the broadest possible perspective and asks us to think of God's final purpose. Whatever may come (and we are seeing signs every single day) we know that God is at work within these world events. As Christians, as the people of God, we can find new hope in knowing what God has done before and knowing also that the best is yet to come.
- In your workbook - please read Finding New Hope in History (pages 27 - 37); answer questions on pages 38 - 39 and be prepared to discuss. Complete God and a Fresh Start on page 40.
- For those following along on the blog who do not have a workbook - the Scriptures for the Second Sunday of Advent are: Malachi 3:1-4; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6
- The following Scriptures were submitted from the group and placed in our Advent Calendar we made . . . please include these as part of your daily devotional and quiet time this week of Hope
- Isaiah 40:31
- Philippians 1:20
- Psalm 33:18
- Revelation 21:4
- Romans 15:13
- 1 Corinthians 13:7