12-02-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 2, 2023
The day before… When something unexpected happens, we often forget about what occurred the day before. When we are waiting with great anticipation for something, the day before it occurs seems to painfully drag. Today is the day before Advent, and it is already a mix of emotions. I love this season of the year, and I am truly excited for tomorrow, but I am also trying to focus on today. Yes, tomorrow will be wonderful as we light the first candle on the Advent Wreath and begin singing some of the traditional songs of the season. But I don’t want to look ahead without acknowledging that today contains the same number of minutes as tomorrow, and within each of those minutes is an equal amount of possibility—the possibility to do the very things the Christ Child came to invite the world to do. Tomorrow will be awesome, but why should I assume that today, the day before Advent begins, is not fully capable of being equally awesome? Just a thought…

Prepare me, Lord of this Advent Season, for the journey that begins tomorrow. Yet with my mind attuned to what will occur, let me also be mindful of what is already occurring around me in this moment. What opportunities are there to enflesh the love of the incarnate one, Jesus Christ? I’m sure there are more than I could ever imagine, but I pray for the chance to act on at least one of them today. Amen.