Daily Thought For November 28, 2021

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 1st Sunday of Advent


THE MARKING OF TIME and its turning is a remarkably human thing. Inexorably, the minutes and hours move forward and never reverse. Yet the discovery of cycles of years connotes its own hope. We may begin anew, make resolutions, hope that love will flourish again.

For Christian churches the message of Jesus Christ is condensed in a year’s cycle—celebrated from glory to glory: his coming, his ministry, his death, his resurrection, and his future coming.

Advent begins a new year. Yes, Jesus came and he will come again. He will be with us and take us home. Till then our life is a pilgrimage. Each Advent we may start once more to live with him and in him. We have the option to become a testimony of his loving redemption, to share in it through who we are and what we do, and finally to recall our own eternal destiny.


   Advent Wreath

  A wreath is a ring; a ring has no end. Advent wreaths are usually made of evergreens to remind us of life everlasting—ultimately our lives will have no end. Four candles mark the weeks. The candles are often purple (for sorrow and penitent waiting) and pink for the third week (to rejoice for the Lord is near), but in some countries red, gold, and natural honeycomb wax are used to symbolize the precious busyness of our lives preparing for the coming of the King.

 Select your own symbols. Make them meaningful for you. Light the first candle today. Pray with the Church:

     Lord God,

     your Church joyfully awaits the coming of its Savior,

     who enlightens our hearts

     and dispels the darkness of ignorance and sin.

     Pour forth your blessings upon us

     as we light the candles of this wreath;

     may their light reflect the splendor of Christ,

     who is Lord, for ever and ever. Amen.

     (Taken from the Book of Blessings, nos. 1509–1540)


But how can we live with him, love him, focus on him, learn from him, sit at his feet, bake bread for him to break? We look to those who did. We hope to learn from them the answer to how.

Mary of Nazareth, draw me to your company. Tell me the stories of your Son, the memories of your people. This first Sunday of Advent is a reminder of Jesus’ coming at the end of time. It is said that you are a bridge across time: daughter of Israel, bearer of the Messiah. You embody the expectation of both covenants: the hunger for his saving power to set things right in this world and the longing for eternal fulfillment, at last to be content, happy, at peace. Mary, let me learn from you.

Act

  Today, foster the desire to seek and find Jesus.

Pray

  Lord, come! Let me find you; let me see you face to face.

Frisk, M. J. (2005). Joyous Expectation: Journeying through Advent with Mary (pp. 3–5). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.

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