“Now Is the Time to Walk in The Light of the Lord” by Sam Miller

“Now Is the Time to Walk in The Light of the Lord” by Sam Miller

First Sunday of Advent

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! Isaiah 2:5

"Peace be within you!" Because of the house of the LORD, our God, I will pray for your good. Psalm 122: 8b-9

Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 13:11-13a,14a

“So, will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Matthew 24:39b-44

Piety

“May God bless us with every gift of the Spirit so that we may be watchful and alert on the day of Christ’s coming. Amen” December 1st Morning prayer

Study

Despite all the hype of the secular world (Strange seeing the wicked witch from Halloween standing alongside Santa Claus.), today is the official beginning of Advent, a period of preparation for the coming of Christ. This time will be a Season of increasing wakeful, watchful awareness of the approach of Jesus, the Infant, and the Word become flesh!

“…The Church gradually formalized the celebration of Advent as a period of spiritual preparation for Christmas. The Gelasian Sacramentary, traditionally attributed to Pope St. Gelasius I (d. 496), was the first to provide Advent liturgies for five Sundays. Later, Pope St. Gregory I (d. 604) enhanced these liturgies composing prayers, antiphons, readings, and responses. Pope St. Gregory VII (d. 1095) later reduced the number of Sundays in Advent to four. Finally, about the ninth century, the Church designated the first Sunday of Advent as the beginning of the Church year.”

Advent wreaths of evergreen are shaped in a perfect circle to symbolize God's eternity. ‘(Interestingly, the use of the Advent wreath was borrowed from the German Lutherans in the early 1500s.)’ The candles on the Advent wreath include The Prophets' Candle, symbolizing hope; the Bethlehem Candle, symbolizing faith; the Shepherds' Candle, expressing joy; the Angel's Candle, symbolizing peace.  We light them in that order.

“…Different faith expressions have different meanings for the candles, but the main idea behind the candles is to designate the four weeks, the progression, sense of expectation, anticipation, and increase of light," said the Rev. Tommy Davidson of Riverside Baptist Church in Newport News. "We believe Jesus is the light of the world, and he brings light into this world, so as you go through the four Sundays, you increase the light in the world as the anticipation grows."

“…Three candles are purple, symbolizing penance, preparation, and sacrifice; the pink candle symbolizes the same but highlights the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, when we rejoice because our preparation is half-way finished. The light represents Christ, who entered this world to scatter the darkness of evil and show us the way of righteousness. The progression of lighting candles shows our increasing readiness to meet our Lord.”

Christians turn to Advent as a time of light and preparation. (By Natalie Joseph njoseph@dailypress.com Nov 26, 2016, and www.catholicstraightanswers.com)

Action

Dear Lord, please help me to prepare appropriately for Your arrival from Day 1, despite the fact I know You’ve Already Arrived! Bring new light to my heart to find new wonder in the gift of Your Incarnation and to see Your gentle urgings to discover ever more of You and Your ways that I may ever walk in Your light. In Jesus’ name, I pray! Amen.