Homily Preview:

Advent always begins with a bang. We get apocalyptic language and the like. It is sometimes asked, why does the church calendar begin a season as cozy as Christmas with the jolt of apocalyptic imagery? The answer is that the church has always recognized that the time in which we live is in between two advents, Jesus’ incarnation and the future advent of Christ the King when he will join the world to come to this world, bringing all things and all people under his rule of peace, justice, and love.

But to live between the two advents is to need to be reminded of how to read the present in light of the future, and to ask each other: how would we then live. Cornelius Plantinga puts it this way:

Our task “between the two advents” is simple faithfulness in our work and in our attitudes — the kind of faithfulness that shows we are being drawn forward by the magnet force of the kingdom of God.

We trust God’s Spirit to use this Advent Season to make us more faithful, enabling our flourishing and the flourishing of our communities.