Our Journey Together
First Sunday of Advent
November 30, 2014
MK 13:33-37

Whether or not we enjoy it, most of us will be doing a whole lot of walking over the next few weeks. At the Mall, grocery store, through Christmas tree lots, cleaning and decorating the house, to and from grandchildren’s pageants and programs, to parties and gatherings and hopefully…to special Advent prayer at our parishes. It’s relatively easy to get in the recommended 10,000 steps each day of the season of rushed preparation. We are on the move and it can be exhausting.

During the Season of Advent, were are also on the move, in the spiritual sense. We walk in a circle. The Sunday before we light the first candle on the Advent wreath is Christ the King Sunday, when we celebrate Jesus as the King of the Universe…Sovereign of all creation, who rules with mercy and love. With that image fresh in our minds, we begin to move around a circle of ever greens, symbolic of everlasting life. Each week, we light another purple candle…pushing back the darkness and anticipating the glory of God that will pour out from the heavens on that night when The Word takes Flesh to dwell among us. We distinguish the third week of our journey with a rose colored (pink) candle…because of the mounting sense of anticipation…expectation…the growing sense of joy. Finally! We light the last candle and then we wait.

AND THEN WE WAIT! Those are very important words. We wait to close the circle, by encountering the new born King!

Advent is a season but it is also a journey when we walk together as a family of faith preparing to celebrate a past event…but also conditioning ourselves for a future event…Christ’s return in glory. And so we wait and we walk together as a pilgrim people…walking in a circle that began with Christ and will conclude with Christ…with Christ at our side throughout the journey. Don’t count the steps…measure instead the mercy, the forgiveness, the acts of charity and tolerance…and

Walk in peace!