Watching Out For Peace
This
week marks the beginning of Advent, when we begin our journey towards
Christmas. Advent is a time of preparation, and we usually understand that to
be a time of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas. Traditionally
in Advent we focus our preparation on the themes of peace, hope, joy and love.
Today we begin with the theme of peace.
The
gospel reading this morning reminds us that this time of preparation also has a
future aspect. Advent is not only about the first Christmas, it is a time of
deliberate preparation for the second coming of Christ, however we understand
that. It is looking forward to when the reign of Christ is fully establish and
all God is working for comes to be.
This
morning’s gospel also reminds us that this is not a passive activity where we
sit around and wait for God. This is a time of examining how we are involved in
living in such a way that we point to the coming reign of Christ. We are, as
Matthew says, to watch. Biblical scholar Bill Loader[1]
suggests that it is unhelpful to read this passage as “an exhortation not to
misbehave in case you get 'caught with your pants down', as they say, when
Jesus comes.” Instead he says “It is about developing an awareness of what the
God of the future is saying and doing in the present, to take a God perspective
on the issues of the day and the future and to let that happen at all levels of
our reality, from our personal lives to our international community.”
Last
year we set one of our parish goals to be “living incarnationally in the
community”. This first Sunday in Advent is a time to ask ourselves where we see
God at work bringing peace into our world and our community. More than that, we
are invited into active watching, to join in that work of peace making. How do we
embody the peace of God in our community?
Advent is also the time for
the Christian World Service Christmas Appeal. This draws our attention to issues
facing some of the poorest and most vulnerable people and invites us to take a
God perspective on the issues of the day in the international community.
This year’s theme is Share
Water, Share Life
Water
is one of the most powerful symbols of the Christian faith and a constant
throughout the Scriptures. It is a gift
of God that sustains the whole of creation.
But the water is running low and the costs of buying it rising. The changing climate means that farmers
cannot rely on rains or the dry seasons they need to dry food for storage. Others experience massive floods, tsunami and
hurricanes that kill and destroy. Cities
draw much more deeply on underground aquifers or lakes and rivers for growing
populations. Once clear water sources
are contaminated with pollution or used for manufacturing and mass food
production. Conflicts over control of
water supply are intensifying. People
are dying from disease caused by polluted water or thirst.
As
we reflect on God’s peace, we are reminded that everyone has a stake in the
management of the local water supply but who gets to make the decisions? Will some continue to miss out? What are we doing with the gift that God gives
us to share? CWS partners are working
hard to share water, share life. Please
give generously to the 2013 Christmas Appeal to help them do their work.
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