The Second Sunday of Advent

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophets,

Behold, I send my messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.

Mark 1:1-3

We light this candle as a symbol of Christ the Way.

May the Word sent from God through the prophets lead us to the way of salvation.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Jesus saith unto him,

I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

Maybe, just maybe, we have come full circle.

They say that the Christian church appropriated the winter solstice celebration and made it about God.

Christmas

Well now it has been restored to its original purpose.

It is no longer politically correct to say

“Merry Christmas”

in order to avoid offence to any

“Happy Holidays”

covers it all.

Instead of rejoicing in the gift of a Savior who saves us from our sin

we honor “Santa” who keeps a record.

Have you been naughty or nice?

Instead of learning of St. Nicholas who brought gifts to the poor children

now we over indulge children who have so much already,

with things they don’t need.

Instead of taking time to read the Scriptures as a family,

we spend time moving a toy “Elf” around our home,

competing to see who can come up with the cutest or most outrageous scenario.

We rush around trying to cram as much activity as possible into the month of December.

Then we pack it all away and begin planning for Valentine’s Day!

O Lord, help me to spend this time of Advent, preparing for the season of Christmas.

A season, not one day.

Twelve days to celebrate the first Christmas

when the God of Creation put on flesh to live among His creation.

The world would prefer that we forget –

forget that God so loved us He sent Jesus to live among us –

to die on a cruel cross for our sin –

to conquer death and come out of the tomb –

that we also might live.

Christmas reminds us of what it cost God to redeem His people.

But we don’t just remember Jesus’ birth during the Advent season.

We also are reminded to be alert to His second coming,

when He returns to claim His bride,

the Church.

O Come, O Come, Emanuel!