Advent

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (First Sunday of Advent BCP 211)

Advent is the season of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, into the world and into our hearts. In the Church we prepare and celebrate this coming of Jesus on three levels. The first is Jesus' birth, and the wider world is good about capitalizing on this. We remember Jesus came into the world as a baby, born and laid in a manger. The second is Jesus' coming again to usher in the coming of God's Kingdom. We anticipate this event in the future. The third is Jesus' coming into our hearts and opening us up to God's guidance and wisdom. We celebrate this in the present, as we know ourselves to be imbued with the Holy Spirit.

The gospel passages we will hear this season on Sunday mornings will be Jesus and John the Baptist talking about what it means to get ready and when to get ready. This coming Sunday Jesus reminds his disciples to be ready at all times, because we do not know when Jesus will come again. Indeed, we know Jesus has come, will come, and comes into our hearts over and over again everyday. Our daily lives are full of the gifts of the coming of Jesus. The season of Advent reminds us to be prepared for Jesus and to pay attention to his coming, in every way in which he shows up.