We are moving fast towards the end of this year, 2017, and some of us are very glad to see it go. Those of you who have been through the death of a loved one, settling an estate, leaving an old treasured job or going to new employment can appreciate the sentiment of being happy to see this year in the rearview mirror.
For me, as well, there has been the challenge of seeing good friends battle chronic illness and disease. You want the best for the people you love, and when the threat to health and life occurs for them it can be shattering for you as well.
The recent brief rare snow event that hit my community over a week ago, reminded me that there is beauty in seeing snow cover the ground and trees. The stillness that is evoked from a winter storm prompts one to think about, as Paul Tillich would refer to, as “the ultimate things. “Such considerations could include beauty, love, grace, connection and peaceful companioning with God or the divine, however known.
Advent has been defined as a period of waiting, of preparing our hearts and souls for the birth of Jesus into our lives once again. We celebrate this time, knowing like John the Baptist, that we work for this new reality to emerge. As the writer of Isaiah would remind us:
“ In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40.3 )
Waiting for something new to emerge is hard work. I noticed recently that a large grocery store in my mother’s old neighborhood in Portland, Or is closing. This action will affect a lot of low-income people who live in this area of Southeast Portland. The management of the grocery chain is closing this store because it is underutilized and that is their right. I will miss, however, shopping there for flowers that would be taken to the graves of my deceased relatives. I will also be concerned for the people who live in this neighborhood, especially those without cars, who will face a greater challenge having access to healthy food.
The Incarnation argues that God or the divine, however known, in the person of Jesus becomes human and dwells among us. When we talk about having an incarnational presence, we are making the claim of the presence of God being among us.
During this season amidst all the commercialism and materialism and busy activity, it can sometimes be a challenge to access this incarnational presence.
Perhaps, what we need is more quiet, more time to be focused upon our breathing, our thoughts, our prayers, our hopes, dreams and wishes for our lives, for those we love and for our world.
The remainder of this year is rapidly coming to an end, with all its blessings, curses, achievements and failures. Prolepsis refers to events that will occur as spoken as if they had already occurred. The Idiom of “Prolepsis” - Living Hope International Ministrieshim.org/blog/2013/11/24/the-idiom-of-prolepsis/ Olepsis Proleptic ethics begins by projecting a vision of a preferred future; then it seeks creative opportunities to actualize the vision. Proleptic Ethics vs. Stop Sign Ethics: Theology and the Future of ...https://www.elca.org/JLE/Articles/46
We struggle with what it means to be more truly human, and we desire to find out what it means for the divine to more fully permeate our lives.
Like the snow which falls and then melts, may we feel cleansed and renewed in the newness of God’s creation. May we be reminded that even though old landmarks change, and that loved ones and friends may suffer with illness and that even fear and concern for the future of our own lives may threaten to consume us, that God is still with us.
Help us to know that the presence of God can transform us, create new life for us, for our families, friends and for our world.
May this time of Advent be filled with many God experiences now and always.
May it be so.