You are here

Humanity and divinity can be joined - Meditation for Sunday of Advent I

"The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous." (Psalm 147)

‘Advent’ is our time of waiting, of anticipating the arrival of the Lord. In church time, anew each year, we await the Nativity, the birth of Jesus, God’s own presence, come to live among us. The last weeks before the birth of a child, its advent, are a time of anticipation, excitement over who this baby will be, what kind of person is entering the world.

The scriptures today tell us in so many ways, what this baby will be like: he will be the bearer of compassion, binding up wounds, visible and hidden; he will heal our hearts and minds, and free us from the prison of things that trouble or torment us. He will shine the light of truth, so that where we blindly followed, we can clearly see how to travel to be with Him, and to be like Him.

Above all, he will bring joy, though it will be a joy dearly bought, by skepticism, mockery, death, persecution. It will all be worth the price, for out of that birth, that life, that death, comes a whole new world, a new creation. Through His coming, it became possible to be like God, for God came to be like us. He came to lift us up, to recognize and live the best part of ourselves. He came to teach us His wisdom that can stand against the opposition of the whole world. He came to show us, in his Person, how humanity and divinity can be joined, in that space called the human heart.

The readings for Sunday of Advent I (29 Nov 2015) are:

Psalm:146,147
OT: Amos 1:1-5, 13-2:8
NT: 1Thess. 5:1-11
Gospel: Luke 21:5-19

and can be found at www.satucket.com/lectionary/2Advent1.htm.

Comments

Add new comment

Our comment policy requires that you use your real first and last names and provide an email address (your email will not be published). The Communications Office of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark reserves the right not to publish comments that are posted anonymously or that we deem do not foster respectful dialogue.