It’s the first full day of winter and although the morning seems dreary, we have one more minute of daylight before sunset. We usually associate snow with winter, not the cold, wet rain we are having today. I know, rain is always wet, but it just seems wetter when it’s cold rain.
We’ll start seeing more light, almost imperceptible because the days will only be longer by a minute or so. But it’s much like our journey towards God. Very few of us have flashes of great revelation; most of us just muddle through as we search for meaning in our lives. So as the days grow longer, perhaps a rainy day is a good way to continue our journey.
As we near the conclusion of Advent on our Western calendars, we should remember that the preparation for its liturgical end should not mean an end to our journey. We continue to prepare for the advent of the man Jesus who calls us to live in anticipation of the kingdom of justice and mercy. The work involved in that advent will take the rest of our lives.
Prayer for the Day
In anticipation of the day celebrated as the birth of Jesus,
We find ourselves caught between promise and expectation;
Contemplating the prospect of your coming, we await the new day
And ask that we will not fear the demands you place on us.
Set aside our desires that the child will remain in the manger
And grant, O God, that we face the challenge he gives us.
In the name of the One who calls us all to live fully,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We must speak in practical terms. Either Christ's coming has meaning for us now, or else it means nothing at all.
- Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, German Lutheran pastor (1842-1919)
Our souls should be a transparent crystal through which God can be perceived.
- Hildegard of Bingen, poet, composer, mystic (1098-1179)
Shower, O heavens, form above, and let the skies rain down righteousness;
Let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,
And let it cause righteousness to spout up also;
I the Lord have created it.
Isaiah 45: 8