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Advent 1

 I must confess, I am not a fan of cold weather - and even less so with increasing age - but in this hemisphere where December blows cold, we also come to Advent. And Advent is one of my favorite liturgical seasons!

This morning the temperature was well-below freezing, but courtesy of the radio I woke up to a beloved Advent hymn:

People, Look East
by
Eleanor Farjeon



 

People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.

Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.

Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.

Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way.

Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
Christ who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the word, the Lord is coming.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.


[This poem is in the public domain.]


And because he has said it much better than I ever could, I will quote my friend Barkley Thompson on Advent:

". . . today . . . we are afforded the blessed opportunity to renew and expand our hope.  This is the first Sunday of Advent.  This is, for Christians, the new year.  This is the beginning of the season not only to prepare for the gauzy joy of Christmas, but also for the much more profound Second Coming, which will be nothing more or less than God’s—not humanity’s—promised redemption of all things, the time when the Son of God will return to restore God’s world."     

[His full sermon can be found here: All Manner Of Things Shall Be Well (Luke 21:25-36) | God in the Midst of the City]


May you have a most blessed and holy Advent!





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