The work of Advent is practical as well as spiritual. Like Mary’s preparation for the birth of Jesus, and like John the Baptist’s preparation for the ministry of Jesus, our preparation for the coming of Christ summons us to action.
The hymn “Unexpected and Mysterious (ELW 258) calls us, “to embody God’s compassion for each fragile human life.” The Spanish hymn “Toda la Tierra” (“All Earth is Hopeful,” ELW 266) reminds us not only that “furrows lie open for God’s creative tasks” but that God’s tasks engage “the labor of people, who struggle to see how God’s truth and justice set ev’rybody free” (stanza 1). The work is difficult, involving mountains, valleys and new highways and protocols (stanza 3). Yet the birth of God’s promise in our world, like the birth of a child, makes the labor worth it.
This year let the songs of Advent be your prayer and your call to action.
This message is excerpted from “The songs of Advent” by Kathryn A. Kleinhans in the December 2017 Gather magazine. Today is the Second Sunday of Advent.
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