Jeremiah the prophet tells us: "The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah." And when that day comes, "Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure." With this first step on our fresh journey into the new year of grace, as we enter into the season of Advent, as we allow the hungers that were not satisfied by Thanksgiving to be addressed, we must remember that we are "children of the promise". I shared this fact over the weekend. Promises are made all of the time, and we are truly people acquainted with promises freely and generously made. But very few of those promises reach fulfillment, and those that do are constantly challenged by the harsh realities of life. But we are "children of THE promise" - the one made to us by the very source of all things. Our God, life-giver and creator, savior and friend, the very definition and source of life and love, has promised us a heavenly Kingdom that is experienced in part on our present journey and anticipated in its fullness when he comes again in glory. He calls us to wait in hope for that day, to be ready to enter into his joy, to build an earthly kingdom that will help us reach for the heavenly, and to love the things of heaven and the things of earth.
The Prayer After Communion for the first Sunday of Advent prays:
"May these mysteries, O Lord,
in which we have participated,
profit us, we pray,
for even now, as we walk amid passing things,
you teach us by them
to love the things of heaven
and hold fast to what endures."
As we begin our Advent journey, let us recall and celebrate the promise that our Savior made - that he will come, and we need not fear.
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