Advent 1b - conclusion

Josh and I left Fort Worth in the very early morning for two days of father son beach camping and boogie boarding. Hopefully by the time you are reading this we’ll be catching some Gulf surf on Mustang Island. Mary Ruth and I had a father daughter date on Tuesday night to celebrate her sixteen years of life. We had a lovely dinner at Cat City Grill and a macchiato at Avoca and then got home in time for the Dancing with the Stars final. It’s a nice way to start Advent, a season to reflect on and be thankful for all God has done for us, even as we wait with eager expectation for the joy to the world that will come, and of course by that I mean the second coming, not Christmas. The texts for Advent 1b contain some frightening images if it were not for the promise found in each one. In the face of national calamity Isaiah counts on the Lord remembering “we are all your people.” The psalmist counts on being restored in the light of God’s salvation after being fed a steady diet of tears. Paul’s gracious salutation to difficult people counts on “the greatest gift of these is love” that is more than able to overcome divisions in the body of Christ. And the “stay awake” of the Gospel is an invitation not a threat for the One who will come on the clouds is the same One who was born in a stable.