Advent

November 28, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is faithful. In our world today, we have few, if any other, absolutes to grasp. Our federal government is in shambles, divided so deep we see no means of rising above the discord. Self-righteousness has replaced justice. Once our Supreme Court decided that corporations had all the rights of a person, the door was opened for money being poured into campaigns enticing voters to select options that were against their best interest. The rich got richer. The number of persons classified as poor grew greater

Corinth, too, had its fair share of discord and division when Paul first wrote to them. Yet, he opened the letter with the salutation that they were already equipped to deal with the array of problems they faced because God is faithful. God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen us and guide us in reshaping the world in the ways of God, the faithful one. Nowhere does Paul suggest that such a mission would be easy. He simply says we are graced with what it takes to make it happen.

One of our first challenges is bringing the Body of Christ together to find common ground. The early church was very divided on many things. The one thing they agreed on was helping the poor. We might start there, too.

Prayer: Faithful God, weave us together as we strive to be the Body of Christ in our world today. 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.