A new year in the life of the Christian Church begins Sunday as we enter the season of Advent. We don’t celebrate this new year with hoopla and all-night parties like we might celebrate the turn of the calendar year. We celebrate by lighting candles in the dark, singing songs of lament and hope, and by waiting…
We wait for the coming of Christ who shelters in the arms of his young mother on a cold winter’s night. We wait for the Christ of the “last days” when this fallen world will be restored to perfect communion with God. We wait for the coming of Christ in our present moment, usually when we least expect the encounter.
As we wait, we yearn for what might be. We yearn to be fully known and cared for just as we are. We yearn for peace in our homes, workplaces, and the world. We yearn to make right the wrongs we have committed against God and neighbor. We lament our inability to restore our broken souls and our broken world.
When we gather Sunday we will light a candle to symbolize hope is stronger than despair. We will hear the ancient words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah who proclaims: “we are the clay, and you are our potter.” To produce a useful pot or a beautiful sculpture, the potter approaches the clay with rapt attention and appreciation for its potential. The potter gives shape and substance to what appears lifeless yet is brimming with minerals drawn from the ancient substrata of the earth. Like the clay we are raw material, and God’s presence, devotion, and vision of what we can become is what saves us from ourselves and fills our hearts with hope.
In peace,
Pastor Lori+