December 10, 2015 | II Advent, Thursday

Ps 37:1-18, 37:19-42; Amos 9:1-10, Rev. 2:8-17, Matt. 23:13-26

I often worry my way through Advent, concerned that I'm missing the point, and a bit disappointed, if I'm honest, that there's not a "TaaDaa!" at the end, providing instant understanding and enlightenment. I'm dutifully waiting, but the end is never quite satisfying. So I let myself get caught up in the joy of Christmas and hope that I'll figure it out next year.

So, what am I waiting for? I'm the kind of person who says that as an admonishment, followed by the command -- Go! But in Advent, that's not it.

The readings for today make it very clear that things don't change much -- Amos pretty accurately describes today's society and its inevitable falling; Jesus berates the same hypocrites we see around us; Revelation describes the ongoing challenges to us as Christians...so I suppose we're waiting for the same things that human society has waited for, for millennia. Jesus nails it when he tells the hypocritical Pharisees what they have neglected: justice, mercy and faith -- and perhaps that is what we're still waiting for.

Maybe this year, I get it -- I think I'm waiting for what's been neglected: justice, mercy and faith. They seem to be in particularly short supply this year, and I'm so very tired of being outnumbered when I try to practice them. I believe that's why we wait together, as a church -- so we can support each other in the practice, and in the waiting.

Kathy Brock

Advent at St. Stephen's

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