Devotional 12-1-20

 Advent.
A time when we light candles,
Sing about Emmanuel.
Prepare our hearts and minds
For the coming of Christ.

What does it matter?
Is it only about candles, and song?
Only about preparing ourselves?
What does it matter?

It matters because
I make mistakes.
I sin.
Every. Single. Day.
Without fail,
my day is punctuated
with those things I do not plan to do
and yet do anyway.
Like Swiss cheese,
my day is full of the holes
where my good intentions have failed.
If it weren’t for advent,
if it weren’t for the coming of Christ,
I would live in the pain
of my faults, my mistakes, and my sin.
Without hope.

Advent matters.

It matters because
the world is divided.
We hurt each other
Every. Single. Day.
Without fail,
our days are riddled
with the hate we pour on each other.
With the blank stare of indifference
to the hunger and sickness of others.
Our world is filled with the noise
of arguments and judgment,
of the cries pain of the oppressed.
If it weren’t for Advent
if it weren’t for the coming of Christ,
we would live in the hatred
of our divided world.
Without love.

Advent matters

It matters because
death is inevitable.
People die
Every. Single. Day.
Without relief.
our lives are lived
with the knowledge that we are dust,
with the grief of loss,
with the aching heart
of missing those we love.
Our world is filled with mourning,
with the loss of family
and of ourselves.
If it weren’t for Advent
if it weren’t for the coming of Christ,
we would live in the darkness
of a casket in the cemetery.
Without life.

Advent matters.

Because Christ has come,
because Christ is coming,
we light candles of hope, love, and life.
We sing of Christ with us.
our hearts are filled.
our lives are changed.
our future is eternal.

Advent matters.

Kim Matthews