Advent
December 18, 2016

Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:18-25

All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
 and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. –Matthew 1:22-25

The message conveyed by the consistent referral to the prophets of old in the New Testament tells us today that God is God, has always been, and will always be. Simple as this statement is to make, it is the most comforting message we can receive. Running around crying out the sky is falling is not helpful. The prophets in much more poetic language tell us to keep being God’s people no matter what.

Just like the ancient Israelites when times seem good, we too get lulled into states of complacency. We do not want anyone to rock the boat but that is not the way of progress. Such attitudes slow the development of a society to follow God’s plan of love and reconciliation.

As we deepen our spiritual quest toward fuller appreciation of “God with Us” let us consider how God is leading us to greater love for all God’s children so that each human on this earth can attain the full measure of God-based contentment.

Prayer: Lover of all Souls, as we celebrate your coming in human form, grant us the courage to step out in faith to demonstrate your love in action to the world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, by permission. All rights reserved.