Advent

November 27, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 24:36-44
‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Cliches abound regarding not being aware of the realities that impact our lives and the lives of others. “They buried their heads in the sand.” “They have blinders on.” “They see through rose-colored glasses.” The truth is that we often see what we want to see, which means we must broaden our outlook to see what the Lord wants us to see. Jesus saw the lepers as ones who needed healing; the people saw them as a group to avoid. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan; the priest avoided the man who lay injured on the side of the road; the Samaritan helped him. When Jesus taught the 5,000, the Disciples wanted to send them away to get food when it came time to eat. Jesus said you give them something to eat.

We are commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. How much do we love ourselves? How much is our reaction to others driven by our lack of self-worth? How much of our view of ourselves is driven by worldly measures, not God’s? Why do we feel unworthy when we were created in the very image of God? Jesus cautions us in Matthew 7:5, You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

One thing we can do each evening is to take the time to examine ourselves regarding our relationship with God. Where do we see God at work today? Where did we miss the mark? Each morning, we can consider our schedules, identify any activities that make us feel vulnerable, and invite the Holy Spirit to guide our responses in those situations. Also, we can identify something in our day that would allow us to share the love of God with others. I think we will find that the more we practice loving others as God loves them, we will strengthen our love for ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, open my eyes and heart to see ways to love others as I grow in recognizing that I am a person who can love like you. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.