Seeker

Advent is about getting ready for the coming of Christ. How do we get ready? We prepare. The Advent Word for today is 'prepare'.  At this time of year, preparing for Christmas, we can become so focused on private preparations for friends and family like preparing food and presents, that we lose sight of the bigger picture. The bigger picture involves preparation of heart, mind and will. It involves commitment to God's kingdom values of justice, love and peace. In many churches today, on this 2nd Sunday of Advent, these words from the prophet Isaiah will be read: A voice cries out: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.   Every valley shall be lifted up,   and every mountain and hill be made low;   the uneven ground shall become level,   and the rough places a plain.   Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,   and all people shall see it tog...

In the busy season of Advent it can be hard to take time out to do nothing. It can be hard to make space to concentrate on an activity that brings you peace and joy. The boy in this picture is keeping quiet and still. His focus is on his fishing line and especially its end where he hopes the fish will bite. Whether this is work or play for the boy in the picture, he seems to have a clear focus. He is waiting and watchful. He seems to do nothing, but waiting and remaining attentive is not idleness. He is focused, prepared and ready to act at any time, not knowing if that will be sooner or later. The Advent Word for today is 'Focus'. The brief meditation that accompanies it in the global Advent Calendar I am following this year is this: "Imagine the lenses in your glasses get accidentally switched – everything is out of FOCUS; blurry.   Today, be still and take time to FOCUS. You will see what you have never seen." The Psalmist sings, 'Be still ...

What has the word 'mend' got to do with Advent? It is the Advent Word for today in the calendar I am following. Advent is about waiting expectantly for the coming of Christ to judge the world. That is the great Christian hope: that in the end light fully overcomes darkness, evil will be destroyed. God will, with justice and mercy, mend what is broken and restore to wholeness what is wounded. In the meantime, we live in a broken world where each can play a part in repairing relationships. No one can do everything but all can do something. Even 1 needle and piece of thread can be used to stitch a wound so it may heal. There's a lot of truth in the proverb, 'a stitch in time saves nine' . When something is in need of repair it is better to act sooner rather than later when things may get worse. Just think about potholes in the road, or tiles missing from a roof. Mending sooner rather than later is especially true when someone needs to give or receive forgive...

'Heal' is the Advent Word for today. To heal is one of the things God does, through natural processes, through medicines and physicians, through people and communities and through miracles. Healing in the Bible is about much more than curing an illness. It is about wholeness, well-being, restoration, being at peace and in harmony, not only within oneself but with others and with God. The Psalmist says this of God: He heals the brokenhearted,   and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147: 3 Jeremiah prays: Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;   save me, and I shall be saved;   for you are my praise. Jeremiah 17: 14 Image: a Galilee beach, my own