the Second Wednesday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
The Hope of Healing
In mid-September, I started a 100-Day Dress Challenge, which means I have worn the very same dress every day for two and a half months. Sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? Maybe it is, but it has also been freeing; decision fatigue is a real thing, and I experience less of it when I have fewer decisions in the morning related to what I wear.
My dress contains mostly merino wool, which has many wonderful properties. It is not itchy, despite wool’s reputation in that regard. Wool helps regulate temperature and wicks moisture away from the skin, making it comfortable to wear. Most remarkably, wool resists picking up odours, so items made of wool need to be washed much less often than other garments.
Before this dress challenge, I hadn’t thought too much about how clothing is made. I decided to do some research to learn what was the best kind of fabric, especially in terms of sustainability. It opened quite a can of worms! The clothing industry has a huge environmental footprint, and every kind of fabric has pros and cons.[1]
This leads me to the biggest tension I find myself experiencing these days: every purchase we make has positive and negative implications, not only for us but also for the people who produce the items and for the rest of creation. And frankly, there seem to be so many more negative implications than positive ones.
Along related lines, I experience tension every year over buying Christmas gifts. I want loved ones to feel appreciated. However, I and my family members--immediate and extended--all have more than enough stuff. When giving a gift adds to the burden of stuff, is it time to stop?
I have often been encouraged by a quote attributed to Mother Teresa: “We are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful.” Lately I wonder what it even means to be faithful in the purchases that we make, when every single choice seems to have at least as many ‘cons’ as it does ‘pros.’ Creation is groaning under the weight of our consumption. It is true that when we know better, we can do better--but our “better” is still broken.
In today’s lectionary readings, the Old Testament passage comes from Isaiah 35. Verses 3 and 4 read, “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
I don’t particularly like reading that bit about vengeance and divine retribution, but I do take heart at the reminder that God will come. The passage continues with a declaration that, when God comes, he will open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, make the lame leap like a deer, and make the mute shout for joy. In Luke 7, we read about a fulfillment of that prophecy. When questioned by John’s disciples, Jesus told them to tell John, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Those were remarkable acts of healing. They give me confidence that Jesus is able, too, to cure us from our apathy, laziness, and complacency.
God’s coming is good news for all of creation, not only for people. Isaiah 35 concludes, “Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.” There is hope for all parts of this beat-up but beloved world.
My 100-Day Dress Challenge ends right before Christmas. During Advent, as we wait for the celebration of Christ’s birth, I am praying for a spirit that is content with enough rather than one that accepts excess as the norm. Satisfaction and fulfillment can’t be purchased. They are found in Jesus, the one who can heal us and satisfy our thirst. Come, Lord Jesus!
Thank you for reading the New Leaf Advent Reader, a collection of reflections from writers across Canada. If you are enjoying the reader, sign up to receive the readings in your inbox each day here: SIGN UP
And please share this reflection with your friends and family who might also enjoy it.