Blog #94 Advent notes

Blog #94 Advent notes Here are a few insights from my Advent notes that helped me as I read over them in these final hours of our countdown to our celebration of the birth of our Lord. 1. Faithfulness/Obedience After reflecting on how faithfulness and obedience are related I began to observe more closely how many illustrations of obedience and faithfulness were present all around me on any ordinary day of my life, how, for example in a simple cup of coffee or hot chocolate the flavor temperature color and 'willingness' to take the shape of the cup into which I poured it all presented me with an illustration of an 'experience' of perfect 'obedience' on the part of the coffee or the chocolate. It was as hot colorful and tasty as God wanted it to be. It would be similar with the example of a stone or a pebble, each perfectly marble, or granite perhaps, weighing so much, shaped in such a way, of such a color, always going down when I would drop is, bruising my toe if it were large enough and I were not careful enough, etc. These illustrations and reminders were not of course illustrations of virtues based in freedom, but they were an invitation to me, in my case where I do have freedom, to ask how I measure up in my freedom to the task I have day by day as a creature of God, and especially as a Baptized Christian to be faithful and obedient to God's plan for me. In that plan the Word of God came to earth to bring the power shared with us by faith and grace to be totally faithful and obedient. Thank You, Lord! Waiting. The liturgical year invites us to celebrate and thus to experience again the life death and Resurrection of Jesus. Like any life it is a process and comes in stages. There is a beginning and an end, a purpose, a goal. It is like tonight's desert which started as a pumpkin and now sits on the table as a pie. Or a basketball team which begins with a few tall athletic boys and this evening scores 92 points against LA. Or a choir that starts with a few people who like to sing and sings tonight in Carnegie Hall, New York City. Because the work of Jesus in us is a living process and develops in stages we are called in hope ever to grow in our likeness to Him. I find it helpful to be reminded of this so that I do not lose either hope or patience. Waiting thingss and experiences in my ordinary day remind me of growth, desire, planning, and preparation for the coming of Jesus in similar ways. Waiting things and people are already here and as the same time not yet in their completeness. My notes gave me these examples: A hose waiting to water the garden, a doorway or a gate waiting for someone to come, a "welcome Home" sign on the front porch waiting to be the first thing Joe will see when he comes home from the Army, an invitation to a birthday party, a hamburger on a grill, etc, etc, et. During Advent we are not just waiting for time to go by but for Jesus to come again, to be born among us, and begin to teach us this year how to love God as we should and love one another as He has loved us. It is an exciting time of hope and joy with a unique agenda for each of us. Lord Jesus, come and make our hearts Your Bethlehem!