Wake up! Rub away the comfort of drowsy eyes and take a look around. We live in a world of injustice and pain... Can you see it? Can you hear it? It echos from the groaning of the earth consumed by greed, to the cry of the refugee torn from her country, to the silence of the man sitting cold and alone on the park bench downtown.
Advent calls us to become aware of the need for healing, for hope, and for help. Advent calls us to be awakened to the need for Messiah.
As the faithful waited for the advent of the Messiah many years ago, their longing was filled with the desperation of those on the margins. During this Advent, let's participate in that desperate expectancy by remembering and confronting the brokenness and struggle around and within us.... so awaking ourselves both to the need for and hope of God's life-renewal.
Some suggestions for action:
· Fast this week... skip lunch, or simply eat rice and beans for supper. Remember those for whom choosing what or whether to eat is not an option.
· Donate time and money saved by fasting to the Catholic Action Center or Lexington Rescue Mission
· Sit outside for an hour... on your porch, in the park, where ever. Experience the cold and remember those with whom you share this hour.
· Donate a pair of gloves and a winter hat to Kentucky Refugee Ministries as they welcome folks relocating to Lexington who are not used to the cold of winter.
· Read Scripture:
1. Mark 14: 32-42 - your eyes are very heavy…keep awake!
2. Matthew 24:37-44 - be awake and ready
3. Romans 13:8-14 – now is the moment for you to wake from sleep.
2 comments:
G&S,
Thanks so much for posting these things, they are really great rituals to remind us of the saviour for whom we wait. I really appreciate all that the two of you do to serve the rest of us on a daily basis....one of many millions of examples of Jesus' coming.
i also want to thank you guys for the time and effort that you put into making our worship together during advent so special. sun. night was so precious. i'm realizing my need for a messiah as i struggle through my intense desire to please people. it certainly breed self-centeredness. my hope is to become more awake to the needs of others this advent season. lord willing.
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