ADVENT: Bursting in & Breaking out.

"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” (Luke 21:25-26)

These words of Jesus from the first Gospel reading of Advent 2009 establish a vivid context that describes our world today: crises in the realms of economy, climate, violence and war, division and confusion in the church, and the sense of powerlessness, uncertainty, fear, even despair. Even the cosmos itself (the sun, moon, and stars, the natural order of things) seems to offer a premonition of terrible things.

In this Advent season, we are invited to maintain a kind of “bifocal” vision; to see both the big picture of God’s purpose and action and the immediacy and locality of the path just ahead of us. Both the macro and micro contexts are filled with cosmic significance. We remember God embodied in the baby Jesus, and look forward to the power of the risen Christ who is setting the world right.

The four Sundays of Advent (November 29-December 20) anticipate, explore, and celebrate the unexpected ways God “bursts in” and “breaks out” in our experience and in the world. This is a huge agenda, with cosmic significance; yet it takes form in the most humble and local and intimate of events, the birth of a child in Bethlehem.

The first two Sundays of Christmas season (December 27 and January 3) on the sending of the church, as “the body of Christ,” to live its cosmic vocation in its local context.

During this Advent season of preparation, I encourage each one of us to take some quiet time each day to slow down and reflect on the Advent Scripture readings for each Sunday. In all the lights and tinsel, get-togethers and programs, food and gift buying, let God’s word of Jesus coming into our world sink deeply into our lives. May we all know Christ anew as we reflect and celebrate His coming together.

[The above introduction is taken from Leader magazine, published by Mennonite Publishing Network. Mennonite Churches across United States and Canada are following the same Advent worship resources provided by Mennonite Church USA]