Greetings!
Thank you for joining us as we begin the journey of Advent. Each day you will receive a scripture reading, a reflection on that reading and a short prayer. Join us as we journey together in anticipation of our Saviour's birth.
As you begin these daily Advent meditations, consider adopting some type of "rule of life." Consider spending a brief time each day in Bible reading, reading these meditations, exploring the "family worship section" of the Book of Common Prayer or any of the Advent themed links shown at the bottom of this email. If we continue an activity for 21 days, research shows, it becomes a habit.
Christian Formation Commission
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Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed
on all your commandments...
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways...
Open my eyes so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
Psalm 119: 6, 15, 18
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When I was in 7th grade, I got my first pair of eyeglasses. I will never forget riding home through the dimness of nightfall and being able to see into the illuminated windows of the houses we passed; and the outline of each leaf on a tree ahead; and the clear definition of streetlights and headlights. I wanted to look at everything all at once with my new eyes. I hadn't had a clue about what I had missed before wearing lenses that adjusted my vision.
The Psalmist sings of having her eyes "fixed" on God's commandments; she will "fix" her eyes on God's ways and not forget God's words. She prays that God will open her eyes so that she might "behold wondrous things" out of God's laws. This reminds me of how eyeglasses on a 12-year-old brought into focus things previously unseen. When we seek God's face and pray for God's vision, we see something more that what our human eyes and hearts can perceive. With eyes softened by Christ's compassion and mercy, we see beyond the divisions that would separate us. Fixing our eyes on God helps us to see ourselves in others-the common human frailty that makes mistakes, stubbornly insists on its own way, and sometimes blindly follows a blind guide-and move us to forgive, to help, to love others. Like a good optometrist prescribing lenses, God opens our eyes in ways we cannot open them ourselves and we see the world as we've never seen it before.
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Prayer
Dear Jesus, light of the world and Lord of my heart,
give me eyes to see your hand at work in the world
and give me a heart to respond to the needs of others,
for the sake of your love. Amen.
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