The season of Advent is rich with tradition. When I think back to my childhood, I remember rituals of Advent like lighting the Advent wreath not only at church but also at our kitchen table. Each Sunday night we’d light the candles for that day, marking the four Sundays – days of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love – as we made our way toward Christmas and the coming of the Christ Child. There were other rituals that supported us in our anticipation of Christmas. Advent calendars, made by my grandmothers, invited us to pin felt ornaments on a felt tree or take one more candy off of the “candy calendar” as we moved toward the long awaited day.
We hold fast to many of our much loved traditions just as we create new traditions that support and sustain us along the way. However we mark the days of Advent, my hope is that the journey through those days awakens our hearts, minds and spirits to the ways in which God responds to our deepest longings and comes to us anew this season. Our gospel reading from Mark encourages us to “keep awake,” to pay attention because God is about to do a remarkable thing.
Scripture passages: Mark 13:24-37
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