Friday, December 02, 2005

Advent II: Welcome

Welcoming the Advent means welcoming not only Messiah come to us, but also welcoming Messiah come through us. We welcome as God has welcomed.... graciously, eagerly, lavishly, expectantly. This week of Advent, open yourself up and invite the "other" in. You may find you are hosting Jesus; you may find that Jesus is hosting you.

This welcome surprises us. It comes in times and places that are unexpected, and draws us into journeys that are challenging. No less could be expected of the coming of Messiah.
(Continue reading....)

The call of the first Advent was the call of love and was the call of transformation. Within the incarnation is found the welcoming of God on all that is human; it is a divine and intimate embrace of creation, if you will. Similarly then, in that same incarnation is found the exposure and rejection of all that is inhumane; and herein lies our responsibility to welcoming the new life to which God invites us.

Some suggestions for action:
  • Host a lavish dinner at your place and invite someone who would not be able to do the same for you.
  • Spend time in prayer and meditation. Imagine that you have an evening get together with an old friend, and share that kind of time and space with God.
  • Invite the change and transformation of repentance. Call on a friend with whom you can be vunerable and open up your sins and struggles with him or her.
  • Post your own action or comment below.

2 comments:

billy said...

Clinton,

Thanks for making these practical suggestions for us. But does anyone really want a lavish dinner cooked by me? However, I guess that's not the point..........no carry out or to go orders at the manger....Joseph says to Mary, "Honey, maybe we should order some Papa John's tonight, are the shepherds very hungry?"
Peace

geoff and sherry said...

last night eight of us gathered around the table for an evening meal. it was a joyful reunion...a great moment of hospitality for me. my parents are here from Australia and it so happens we had another friend from Melbourne staying with us - a family friend. it was communion and feasting and 5 of the 8 were not from this country. it was a happy accident that we could all be together and i'm realizing that God was the host of the meal. a precious kingdom-coming, advent meal for me.