Advent

 

Welcome to Advent, a joyful time of year, shot through with the anticipation of celebrating Christ's birth at Christmas. But as we reflect on that, the first Advent, we're drawn to the second when Christ will come again in glorious majesty to judge the "quick and the dead" and the world by fire.

The second coming, a vindication of our faith, and with it the promise of evil's utter defeat. A source of hope, for sure, evil is utterly defeated and the faithful vindicated, but also trepidation. How will we measure up before the perfection of God when He returns?

Austin Farrer offers this:

ADVENT brings Christmas, judgement runs out into mercy.  For the God who saves us and the God who judges us is one God.  We are not, even, condemned by his severity and redeemed by his compassion; what judges us is what redeems us, the love of God.  What is it that will break our hearts on judgement day?  Is it not the vision, suddenly unrolled, of how he has loved the friends we have neglected, of how he has loved us, and we have not loved him in return; how, when we came (as now) before his altar, he gave us himself, and we gave him half—penitences, or resolutions too weak to commit our wills?  But while love thus judges us by being what it is, the same love redeems us by effecting what it does.  Love shares flesh and blood with us in this present world, that the eyes which look us through at last may find in us a better substance than our vanity.

ADVENT brings Christmas, judgement runs out into mercy.  For the God who saves us and the God who judges us is one God. Yes indeed.

God bless,

LSP