Advent: Nourishment & Preparation.
Dear friends and members of St. Matt's,
A few weeks ago, we heard the Gospel lesson from John that comes after the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. A hungry crowd of people is following Jesus and asking him to perform a similar miracle, probably because they're hungry - and because they want to see for themselves (both things we can easily understand). The ensuing conversation ends this way:
Jesus says, "...'the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' Then they said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.' Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'" [John 6:33-35]
For some reason, this text always comes back to me after Thanksgiving as we begin to fix our eyes on Christmas and the rest of the holiday season. Like many of you, I experience this season as one of abundance - in both the best and most challenging ways. For many of us, no matter which season of life we are in, this is a season when we are surrounded by busy-ness and noise, by holiday lights, food, gatherings, arguments, opportunities, challenges, stress, and joy. For some of us, the season doesn't bring us as much of the noise, company, and joy we'd like. And more often than not, the pressure of the season is to fill this time with as many people and things as we can, to do it up. The trouble with that is that if we're not careful, we get distracted by all that swirls around us, all that invites us into the noise and the busy-ness; and then we miss out on the moments, people, and food that really nourish our bodies and our souls. It is easy for us to reach for the things we think will fulfill us, that we think will feed us - only to find out that we've missed out on the things that really do comfort, encourage, and nourish us.
The season of Advent comes to us in the midst of the holiday busy-ness to invite us to stop. To pause. To pray and reflect. To give and to serve. It's an invitation to focus on the light that is coming into the world - on the hope that God shows up in the strangest of places - bringing love, compassion, and the promise of new life. And the hope that this light, this bread that comes down from heaven, will in fact give life to us and to the whole world. Advent is an invitation to search the world around us for God's presence, to discern in the midst of the world the good things God gives us to nourish and sustain us. It's a reminder to pay attention to where and how we spend our time, how we participate in the world around us, and to know when we've found spaces, places, and people that nourish us body and soul. Advent comes round each year to remind us - to call us back to the truth that we need this food, this bread, this hope that we share as a community each week when we gather around our family table to celebrate the Eucharist.
In this first week of Advent, I pray that you'll consider the spaces, places, and people that really do nourish you - not just for this life, but for the life to come. I hope that you'll consider especially the ways that this community at St. Matt's nourishes you and your faith journey. And I pray that as we turn towards Christmas and journey together, searching for the light of God in Jesus Christ, that you will come back to this family table and find yourself saying, "Sir, give us this bread always."
I hope to see you in a few days (12/8) for the Second Sunday of Advent, for Pledges and Pancakes, Pageant rehearsal, the HS Joint Youth Christmas Party, and so much more. God bless you until we meet again.
Faithfully,
--Marissa +
Tags: Welcome from the Rector