First Sunday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Isaiah 2:1-5
The Mountain of the LordThis is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Psalm 122
A song of ascents. Of David.I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” 2 Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. 4 That is where the tribes go up— the tribes of the Lord— to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel. 5 There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. 7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” 8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.
Romans 13:11-14
The Day Is Near11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Matthew 24:36-44
The Day and Hour Unknown36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
NIV
Starful Surprises
by Amy Bratton
Amy Bratton is the Director of Operations & Publishing for the New Leaf Network and the project manager for the Canadian Multivocational Ministry Project. She lives in Saskatoon, SK with her husband, Tim, and their two sons, Oswald and Ira. She is a lay leader at Riversdale Neighbours church and an Adjunct Professor with Rocky Mountain College in the area of Spiritual Formation. She writes and speaks about the history of Christian spirituality, with a focus on the early Methodist understanding of Christian maturity known as “perfect love.” Read more from her in her book Witnesses of Perfect Love: Narratives of Christian Perfection in Early Methodism.
Welcome to the sixth annual New Leaf Advent Reader. I am so excited to share this collection of reflections with you! In 2018, when we put out our first set of daily reflections, I felt like I was leveraging the whole network to find people willing to write a reflection for this unknown project. This year, there is no way that 23 reflections from now until Christmas could do justice to the richness of the network that has emerged over the last several years. I am so grateful for all the gentle souls I have had the privilege to meet through New Leaf.
Earlier this fall, I shared the theme of Surprising Beauty with the contributors. Their reflections on that theme did not disappoint. At our national conference, The Table, in October, we focused on the future of the church; I wanted to continue that hopeful tone during Advent by looking for beauty, even in the darkest days of the year. If you have spent any time around New Leaf, you probably already know that we don’t shy away from struggles, failure or questions. Instead, we pause and reflect on how Jesus walks with us even in darkness that can feel dangerous.
Recently, I’ve been reflecting on how darkness need not hide danger, but instead inspire awe and beauty. As the end of the year approaches in our Northern country, the shortening days and growing darkness can feel routine and even mundane as it comes each year. As I read the lectionary text for today, the first Sunday of Advent, it struck me that, here, the mundane is highlighted and even celebrated.
Isaiah cast a vision of the future in which the crisis of war gives way to the daily necessity of food production, as swords and spears are transformed into plows and pruning shears.
“He will judge between the nation
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Isaiah 2:4-5
Likewise, in the Matthew passage, although apocalyptic in nature, Jesus leverages the mundane tasks of life to cast a vision of the time when the Son of Man will return at an unknown hour.
This Advent, can we let the beauty of the mundane sneak up and surprise us?
As the dark of winter builds, I am reminded of a dark summer night several months ago. During a camping trip, my 5-year-old woke up one night needing the bathroom. As we grabbed the lantern and headed to the campsite washrooms, I was aware that he might be cautious of the dark. In recent weeks, he had expressed concern about the dark at home. However, he surprised me and didn’t seem bothered as we trekked together across the field, did our business in the fully lit building, and headed back toward our tent. In the darkness, I intentionally paused with him for a moment, to look up into the darkness at the stars.
The joy on his face was fun to see. As a kid who goes to bed before the sun in the summer, and who wouldn’t see many stars from our house in the city even if he were awake in the dark, he hadn’t seen this kind of display before. We headed back to the tent and he settled into sleep. I’m glad for the moment in the darkness with him. The path to our destination was obscured. Yet, when we looked up, we were surprised by the quiet beauty of the stars.
In December, the church calendar begins the cycle again with Advent and the birth of Jesus. Can we receive a sense of anticipation for the story to unfold? Can we look for beauty as the story of Christmas reveals new discoveries each year? I’m learning that discoveries are more possible when we know the general storyline that is unfolding. Even more, there is beauty in the growing winter darkness because we know how the story of Advent unfolds. We can suspend our fear of the dark and allow God to surprise us with new beauty each year during Advent.
I invite you to join this year’s journey into the surprising beauty of Advent.
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
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