“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Jesus, circa 33 AD, Luke 21:33-36 NRSV
We are in the midst of Advent.
Advent is an invitation to see the world differently. We are invited to not be so enmeshed with the present, not to be overly impressed with things as they are, not to be so committed to and defensive of all our current arrangements.
Advent is an assertion that all our present stands under judgment. The present will end, and we cannot stop it from ending. It will be displaced by another arrangement of life that God will give. We are invited to live precisely at that juncture where the present is jeopardized and God’s new future begins to impinge upon us.
Advent is about readiness. The elements of preparation named in the passage from Luke 21 concern being weighed down with self-indulgence and with the worries of life (v 34). Self-indulgence includes consumerism that reduces life and people to useful commodities. The “worries of this life” include economic anxiety and the unbridled pursuit of profit, security, affluence, and control. We are invited to be on guard (“be alert at all times”).
We are invited to pray. To watch for signs of God’s new Kingdom, which are elusive, and to pray. To surrender to the dangerous newness.
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Based on an original work by @infinitumlife.