11/30/2017
Advent
Greetings and Welcome to this wonderful season of Advent! Did you know that Advent is the beginning of the church calendar (ask the youth about it, we discussed this last night). This time of the year is all about waiting and anticipating all the gifts we will get on Christmas... wait a minute, that doesn't seem right.
Advent is about anticipating the coming of Christ into our lives and the world. It is seemingly a wonderful thing marked with a cardboard calendar of 25 days with many yummy treats inside... hold on. Nope, Advent is marked and remembered by the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas.
On the 4 Sundays, we remember 4 wonderful gifts given to us by God; Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Gifts given to us and fulfilled by Jesus being born on December 25th... just kidding, we really don't know when he was born. We do know that He was born. Born to a Virgin in a miraculous way in a simple stable (not a palace as I would have chosen).
Jesus was born, and He did give us the gifts mentioned. We have them as a gift to us. Let us in response to this gift give them to all of those around us. Let us be Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love to our family, friends, acquaintances, enemies (wait a minute), and everyone God brings into our lives. Let us remember that Jesus didn't have to come, but He wanted to. For that we have much to give thanks about, especially this time of year.