1st Advent
Luke 21:25-36
And there will be
signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth, the nations will be
constricted with anxiety and doubt with the advent of these spiritual
revelations, as before a roaring sea and waves. And men will lose their inner
strength of soul out of fear and foreboding of what is coming over the living
earth: for the dynamic powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see
the Son of Man coming in a cloud, in the sphere of life, with dynamic power and
great radiant glory.
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And when these things begin to happen, stand upright and
lift up [raise] your soul to the spirit, for your deliverance draws near.
And he gave them a comparison, saying, ‘Observe [behold] the
fig tree and all the trees when they burst into leaf. Seeing this, you know
yourselves that summer is near. So also when you see these things happening,
you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Amen, the truth I say to you: this present age of Man’s
being shall not pass away until all has happened.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never
pass away.
Guard yourselves lest the perceptive power of your hearts be
smothered by excess of food and drink and by over-concern with the cares and
worries of life, and the light of these spirit events break upon you suddenly
like a snare…for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole
earth. So be awake in the spirit at all times, praying, so that you may have
the strength to live through all these things that are about to take place, and
to stand before the Son of Man.
1st Advent
Luke 21:25-36
When a seed is planted, the first thing to happen is a kind
of cataclysm, a disintegration. It swells; the hull cracks; the seed itself
splits apart as the sprouts break forth, one diving down to root itself in the
earth, the other rising into the light.
This is what life does. Real life, real progress and
evolution break us apart. They change us, sometimes fundamentally. Life pushes
us out of our comfortable place of the merely potential into the uncomfortable
stretching and growing toward fulfillment.
At this time of the year, humanity is God’s Bride. He has
impregnated us with His hope for us; with His trust in us; with His love for
us. We are to grow and carry His Spirit-Child within us, His Son who will be
born into our hearts at Christmas. Like any other fruitfulness, this brings us
both joy and discomfort. The poet describes how it is for us:
There is a grace approaching
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| Thomas Cooper Gotch |
it is the completion of our
birth.
It does not come in time,
but in timelessness
when the mind sinks into the
heart
and we remember.
It is an insistent grace that
draws us
to the edge and beckons us
surrender
safe territory and enter our
enormity.
We know we must pass
beyond knowing
and fear the shedding.
But we are pulled upward
none-the-less
through forgotten ghosts
and unexpected angels,
luminous.
And there is nothing left to say
but we are That.
And that is what we sing about.[1]
