First Presbyterian Church of Alabaster (Cumberland)
Tuesday, 07 February 2012
| Main Menu * | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| FYI | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| Login Form |
|---|
| Who's Online |
|---|
| We have 25 guests online |
Home 
Open Door Articles November NOV 14 2005 "Well, hear the good news! Advent is coming!"
Open Door Articles November NOV 14 2005 "Well, hear the good news! Advent is coming!" | NOV 14 2005 "Well, hear the good news! Advent is coming!" |
|
|
|
| Thursday, 17 November 2005 | |
|
I’m always glad when Advent Season rolls
around. There seems to be a palpable change in the mood of people.
There’s probably more than one reason for that. For some people, they
might simply be glad to have made it through another year. Others may
get giddy this time of year remembering the joys and celebrations of
holiday seasons past. Still others may just be glad to get some time
off from work or school. Like I said, there are as many reasons to
celebrate the season as there are people. For the church and her people, however, we ought to be driven to go deeper than those surface causes of celebration. I always find Advent a wonderful time to reflect, to spend time thinking about God, about what God does in Jesus, and about how I can respond to God. When I was in seminary, Dr. Hubert Morrow used to talk to us about reflection. I wasn’t too inspired about it at first. It sounded so academic, so formal. Reflecting on life and experience theologically takes time. And practice. Reflecting is a whole lot art and not much science. Theological reflection is being discovered by God and coming to grips with what that means. Advent is wonderfully suited for that kind of practice. I was doing some reading and some reflecting the other day about Advent, and I ran across these words of Eugene Peterson about Advent. I think they are appropriate for reflection. Peterson writes, “ I’m ever and always a stranger to grace. I need this annual angel visitation ... to know the virgin conceives and God is with us. ” I’m going to meditate on Peterson’s words every day through Advent. I hope to be reacquainted with the greatness of grace. I hope to be revisited by the good news heralded by the angels. I hope to have my hope and trust in God revitalized by the knowledge of “ God is with us ” living and fermenting in my mind. Like Peterson, I need this annual visitation. Perhaps, you do, too. Well, hear the good news! Advent is coming! I hope you will take some time to reflect on what God coming to earth in Jesus means to you, for you, indeed, for the world. Grace and peace, |
|
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 November 2005 ) |