ADVENT

Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent. According to dictionary.com, an "advent" is "a coming into place, view, or being; arrival." Although it's tempting to think of Advent as preparation for Christmas, in the Church year, it is much more than that. It is a preparation for the Lord's second coming. 

AN ADVENT PRAYER

"O Lord, Jesus Christ, King of glory, King of kings, & Lord of lords, the Son of the living God & Son of David, come. Come now to Your Church that You have purchased with Your blood. Come with Your gracious presence, that we may rejoice in You. Come & rule over us, that we may serve & follow You. Come with Your love, humility, & perfect obedience, & let Your lowliness become our glory Come into the midst of Your people & bless us, for we are Your heritage. Forgive us our sin, & do not angrily cast away Your servants, for You are meek & gracious. Clothe us with the garment of Your righteousness, for You are the only righteous one & our helper. Satisfy us with the abundance of Your mercy for You did become poor for our sakes, that by Your poverty we might be made rich. Hear us, Lord Jesus, for the sake of Your holy name. Amen." Lutheran Book of Prayer

AN ADVENT HYMN

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, LSB #357, Sts. 1, 7

O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!

NOTE:  "Emmanuel" means "God with us," & "Israel" refers to all believers, who are waiting for Emmanuel to return & take us to heaven for eternity.

A RAVISHINGLY BRIGHT FUTURE

"The children of this world are looking into a dark future; & they will be cast into eternal darkness. We children of God, believing the Word of God, are looking into a ravishingly bright future, & we shall be received into eternal light . . . Why do we not rejoice more exceedingly, more exultantly, because we are to go there, away from here? Because our faith is weak. But still, the Spirit, the Spirit of God, who dwelleth in us, helpeth our infirmities . . . We are only pilgrims here. Hallelujah! We seek the eternal city that is to come, & shall find it. Hallelujah!" C.M. Zorn, Crumbs

NOTE:  Today I finished this devotion book, which I've been using in my daily quiet time for the past year. Although the language is often archaic, it is a book of meditations faithful to God's Word, & I have found it to be spiritually nourishing.

THE LIGHT OF CHRIST

"Every baptized Christian is obliged by his baptismal promises to renounce sin & to give himself completely, without compromise, to Christ, in order that he may fulfill his vocation, save his soul, enter into the mystery of God, & there find himself perfectly in the light of Christ." Thomas Merton, Men's Devotional Bible

ONE

"God has in all times & places gathered His church by the voice of Christ through the voice of His preachers, from Adam to Abraham, from Moses to Christ & His apostles & those whom He still sends today. Therefore, the church cannot be merely a human institution with human ceremonies no matter how pious those ceremonies may appear. The church is from start to finish created & sustained by Christ with His Word & Spirit. This means the church is not simply an ideal to strive for, but the real embodiment of St. Paul's words,'one body & one Spirit ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God & Father of all.'" (Eph. 4:4-6) Jason Lane, The Lutheran Witness, June/July 2021