Dear Friends,
Sunday, November 30th begins the Advent season for the liturgical Christian churches.  Funny enough, we begin at the end ~ thinking about THE END ~ the end of the world.  The early Christians believed Jesus was coming “soon and very soon.” The early generation of Christians thought the end would come soon.  Jerusalem fell in 70 CE but Jesus didn’t come.

The first reading from Isaiah is a wonderful piece of prose . . .

  You have delivered your face from us  and delivered us up to our guilt.

  Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you are the potter: we are all the work or your hands.  (Is. (64 6-7.)

(You can find the entire passage and the other Mass readings by clicking the  link at the bottom of the page.)

 Jesus  admonishes us in today’s gospel (Mk 13:33-37) . . .

“Be watchful! Stay alert!  You do not know when the time will come.  

What I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

Jesus himself does not know the day nor the hour, only the Father. Be wary of those who claim that the do! We live in the shadow of eternity.  Day by day, we turn to our work and tend to the needs of our family, In time, then, we will be prepared when the Lord decides to take us to himself.  As I learned in third grade when I memorized the catechism question, Why did God make me?  The answer was and is so simple, “to know, love him and serve him in this world and to be happy with in the next.”

Yes, we should be  . . .
prepared / watchful / alert / aware / awake
knowing what’s happening
. . .  but so many of us are asleep, Lord.
We tend to not recognize the signs of the times.
We often dull our senses / stay in our own little worlds,
choosing not to care.

We’re complacent, Lord.
Many don’t want to be bothered pondering or praying about the real issues.
We’re into Cyber Monday bargains and wowed by the latest iphone.

But deep down we are fearful and anxious, caused by threats
. . . of losing our job / having a lump in our breast /
losing health insurance because we lost our job.

Global warming / Ferguson /
corruption on Wall Street and government
the ebola epidemic / ISIS / cyber war.

“Stand erect,” the Gospel says.

Face your fears with courage.
Be strong!
Don’t fear the terror of the night (Psalm 91.)
That’s what Advent faith is all about . . .
Being vigilant.  Being prepared for anything life throws at us.
Standing proudly humble or humbly proud ~ no matter what.

That’s the kind of faith in life ~ in You, my God, that I seek.
I want it. I ask you for it.
Today I consent to it.
Amen.  So be it!

+ + + + +
There will  be fresh blog posts  (God willin’ n’ the creek don’t rise) most every day of Advent till Christmas.

Why not make this Christmas season a special one for you ~ a meaningful one?

Now before you go, here’s a song to get you in an Advent mood from Godspell. Click here – enter full screen and turn up your speakers.  And as Tiny Tim would say, God bless you, everyone.  But that’s getting a little ahead of ourselves.

(Here are today’s Mass Click here.)

With love,
Have a wonderful Advent!
Bob Traupman

contemplative writer

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