It’s Advent. Not Christmas yet — Advent first. This year, I’ve not been very good at entering into the spirit of Advent — the waiting, preparing, anticipating the birth of Christ. I’ve been too caught up in the “churchy” things I’ve had to do, the things I do so that others in my congregation might enter into Advent more fully: a Lessons and Carols service, Sunday morning worship, teaching on spiritual practices that can be helpful in deepening our faith as we “prepare the way of the Lord.”
Today, I was reading the passages assigned to today in the Daily Office lectionary, and one of the passages hit me — Revelation 3:14-22. Specifically, these verses struck me: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (vv. 19-20). For perhaps the first time this season, I asked myself the question, “Would I be ready… if He came today?”
The answer is simple: nope. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the daily churchy things I do as part of my job, to the detriment of my own devotion. So today, I take in the words of our Lord, “Be zealous and repent.” Lord, may I be ready for you.
Light and Shifting Shadows 