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LENTEN DEVOTIONALS

As part of our Lenten journey together as a church to Easter, we will be posting Lenten reflections and practices from a variety of sources.

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Welcome to Musings! As participants in the conversations on this blog, we covenant together that we will maintain a spirit of good will, of openness to each other, and of mutual respect in our discussions; that we will listen to each other and endeavor to understand each other, especially those whose views differ from ours; and that we will remember that we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Why Musings?

  • The Musings Page will be a place to consider thought-provoking, evocative, sometimes polemical but not overtly political, writings, quotes, ideas, and poetry on the Christian life in all its facets: spiritual, religious, ethical, and practical.

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Musings

December 13, 2011

posted on December 13, 2011 by Musings

Third Tuesday in Advent –  Are You Ready?


42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Matthew 24: 42-45 (Read the full passage at Matthew 24: 32-44)

At first glance, this a puzzling Advent scripture.  An unexpected hour? Really? Advent is a time of anticipation and expectation. We mark the weeks with Advent wreaths and count down the days with Advent calendars. We sing hymns like “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. We plan ahead for visits with family. There is really very little mystery left as to when the Son of Man is making his first appearance as the baby Jesus.

This passage of scripture comes towards the end of Jesus’ ministry, part of the last of Jesus’ five sermons in the Gospel of Mathew.  It foreshadows his death and resurrection and has been interpreted as predicting his second coming.  So it is an odd scripture to come across in Advent.

On the other hand, maybe this is a reminder that we don’t know when we will encounter Jesus in our lives.  Mary surely didn’t, for she reacted with surprise and a bit of fear at the news that she would give birth to a Son whose kingdom will never end.  And Joseph surely didn’t expect to find Mary pregnant, nor a visit from angels in a dream telling him to not be afraid to marry Mary. And I imagine that the last things the shepherds expected after night after night of tending their sheep in the cold darkness was a visit from an angel telling them of the birth of a Savior.

Maybe the Son of Man will surprise us too while we least expect it. Are we awake and ready to respond?

Prayer: Keep us awake, O God, for we do not know when the vulnerable Christ child will appear in our lives, nor when Christ will call on us to proclaim justice, nor when Christ will ask us to bind the wounds of the hurting.  Amen.

Today’s reflection was written by Lisa Schrott, a member of First Presbyterian Church, Shreveport.

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