The Unexpected

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As we enter the final week of the semester assignment and essay due dates are just around the corner. It becomes a hectic time of the year in which it seems like we quickly run our of time for everything. And so all our assignments, essays and studying happens the night before the due date or exam day.

Today we begin a new year in the church. We will begin to hear proclamations from the Gospel of Matthew. Written for a Jewish community around 85 AD, the Gospel of Matthew situates Jesus in line with the great prophets of the past, especially Moses. Today, we hear Jesus speaking of the unexpected events of old and of the future. The  great flood, he reminds the disciples, was unexpected by the people of the age.  Noah, the great man of God, was made known of it, and built the boat. So to, the second coming of Christ is unexpected– it will catch us off guard and we will only realize it while it happens. As we wait for the second coming, the Gospel tells us,  we should be prepared, be ready, for it could happen at anytime.

Advent is, on one hand, a season where we prepare to remember with great joy the coming of Christ 2000 years ago, but on the other hand, is focused on the preparation for the second coming of Christ.  These next four weeks help us to prepare for the unexpected. The unexpected miracle of his first coming in the humble wood of the manager, and his unexpected return. The season of advent reminds us of the future and to treat the Second Coming not like a pop quiz, or our essay or lab report due tomorrow, but to be prepared now, in expectation, so that we are not found unprepared and distracted.
As we journey throughout this season of Advent, may we come to prepare our hearts for the Christ child to be born in the manger of our hearts. May we also continually mold our lives more and more like Christs’, so that when he comes again he will find us ready, waiting, and faithful.
Prayer: 
As the new day dawns, We rejoice in the first glimmers of light,
Which remind us of your coming, O tender Jesus.
We give thanks to you, that your light has overcome all our darkness;
May we share in the mystery of your presence in the world
and be always ready to live each day for you.
AMEN

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