We can celebrate this Advent season by hearing God’s word and keeping it in our hearts
Reflections on the readings for the First Sunday of Advent (November 29, 2020): IS 63:16-17,19;64:2-7; PS 80:2-3,15-16,18-19; 1 COR 1:3-9; MK 13:33-37
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days
As people of God, we have the privilege of serving Him and contributing to His Kingdom. When we put Him first in our lives and do all that His Son, our Savior, tells us to do, we will know peace.
As we enter the Advent season, the readings from both the Old and New Testament remind us that we need to be open to the will of God and the way of Christ. Isaiah expresses the feelings and fears of his fellow Jews who are experiencing hardship and believe God is separating Himself from them. “You, Lord, are our Father, our redeemer You are named forever. Why do You let us wander, O Lord, from your ways?… Behold, You are angry and we are sinful.… There is none who calls upon Your name, who rouses himself to cling to You; for You have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay and You the potter: we are all the work of Your hands” (Isaiah 63:16-17; 64:4, 6-7). These people recognize their guilt in failing to do what God asks of them. Yet they also seem to think that He may have hardened their hearts. Whether thousands of years ago or today, it is when we choose to follow our own way, selfishly seeking to please ourselves rather than our loving Lord that our hearts become hard. On the other hand, when we acknowledge that He is the potter and we are the clay with soft hearts malleable to His touch, that He can transform us into the faithful, grateful, and holy people He calls us to be.
As people of God, we have the privilege of serving Him and contributing to His Kingdom. When we put Him first in our lives and do all that His Son, our Savior, tells us to do, we will know peace. We will grow closer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Blessed Trinity. And the treasures that we can gain during this season will enable us to value more deeply the joys of Christmas. Let us spend some time in the coming days, contemplating the gift of salvation and the unending love that Almighty God bears for each of us, His children.
Suggested missionary action: We can resolve to use this Advent season to grow closer to our Lord and help His people. We can do this through prayer and charitable acts as well as material gifts to those in need both in our community and the larger world.
Add #justonemore to your gift-giving list this Christmas with MISSIO.
