Friends of Montview,

 

The coming of Advent jolts the church out of Ordinary Time with the invasive news that it is time to think about fresh possibilities for deliverance and human wholeness. Peace is at the heart of the promise born at Advent, but it's difficult to arrive there safely and without becoming vulnerable along the way.

At Advent, God's people summon the courage and the spiritual strength to remember that the holy breaks into the daily. In tiny ways, we can open our broken hearts to the healing grace of God, who opens the way to peace. Advent is not a season of passive waiting and watching. It is a season of wailing and weeping, of opening up our lives and our souls with active anticipation and renewed hope. The prophet Jeremiah speaks a pastoral word, assuring the people of his time and ours that what is coming is of God. He is adamant about the things that we are tentative about: "The days are surely coming...I have plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." (29:11)
The first Sunday in Advent is for Christians the first Sunday of the year, a new year in sacred time, opening to the mystery and certainty of God's presence. As I listen to the cries of Jeremiah throughout the scope of his prophecy, I long for the day that is surely coming when in God's future the poor are not sent to shelters or forced to sleep on the streets. I long for the day that is surely coming when God's future has no space for violence. I long for the day that is surely coming when God's future affords no room for hatred, a day when our world is no longer torn asunder by racism and sexism and homophobia. I long for people to know the God whom Jeremiah heralds and whom Jesus will incarnate, not a hidden God who refuses to traffic in the human enterprise, but a God who hears God's people when they cry for hope.

So people of God pay attention in this Advent season to the longing and the hope within you and around you. I am glad we are on the journey together.

Peace,
Sheri

We are hoping that you will join us in using your smart phone or tablet to reflect on this Advent season. After reading this email, we'd love for people to snap a picture that expresses the candle themes of Advent; Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Then post the photo to your Instagram and also to Montview's Facebook page with the hashtag #MontviewAdvent. This is an opportunity to slow down and reflect on our surroundings and to share our photos with each other. The picture below is Rev. Sheri Fry's reflection on the Candle of Hope. You can follow Montview on social media at www.instagram.com/montviewchurch and www.facebook.com/montviewchurch.

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