Focus
As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God in whatever way that may take place.
Read
Matthew 24: 23-35 (NRSV)
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
“Immediately after the suffering of those days
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Reflect
The Advent season is a time of waiting and watching as we look forward not only to Christmas, but to the second coming of Christ. God calls us to be watchful and to trust in God, not to be distracted and overwhelmed by the many happenings that seem to signal the end times. We are to prepare to enjoy eternity with God.
As we wait for the second coming of Christ, we need to be ready and attentive to what God has called us to be: A people who are in tune with the spirit of God, mindful of those in our midst who are hurting—the lonely, people suffering from addiction, the terminally ill, those who have physical and mental struggles, the homeless, the aliens in our society, orphans, and others.
Pray
Gracious God, send your Holy Spirit to empower us to listen and hold fast to your teachings. Amen
Go with God.
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