Liturgy of Week 1
An Invitation into this Space:
I held in my hands a book.
In that book were the thoughts
of one who dared to capture
the intangible.
All thought,
until spoken,
cannot be seen.
All thought,
until written,
cannot be held.
In fact, all books have I held
that were once a thought;
pre-existent from the page.
Lovingly crafted and
tirelessly refined.
The Author of Life,
Writer of Reality
had entered the story.
Meditate on the Words of this Scripture:
“This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough:
He appeared in a human body,
was proved right by the invisible Spirit,
was seen by angels.
He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
believed in all over the world,
taken up into heavenly glory.”
1 Timothy 3:14b-16 (MSG)
A Reflection:
What does it mean that the season of Advent is an invitation into a centuries old mystery?
This mystery isn’t one that is unknowable. This mystery is one that is infinite in knowledge. The author of 1 Timothy gives us an outline of this mystery.
The vast and invisible God appeared to us in a limited and tangible body.
Because God appeared in this unusual way, the foundation of our being alerted us to his arrival.
Actually, all that is Divine and good was alerted of his arrival.
Many spoke of his coming and testified to seeing him here.
They told everybody! People were shaken by this news!
This limited physical form God appeared in was taken up as an example of what we can expect soon.
Friends, welcome into the mystery of Advent.
A Benediction:
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,
the world did not recognize him.” John 1:10
The truth is: the Creator was among us and we didn’t recognize him. We couldn’t! We didn’t even have a great enough self image to recognize him within ourselves!
We began to turn invitations into idols. Whenever we recognized a glimpse of God in something, we worshiped the thing instead of who it pointed to!
Kings,
a Golden Calf,
a beautiful Temple
…they all became distractions.
God’s presence has always been accessible in the world around us. But, the coming of Christ marked a shift in access to God.
