HOPE is an acronym.

05Dec
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.’
- Luke 10:21

It is incredible what we can learn from others when we are willing to listen to those who are typically ignored. 

In Sunday’s Gospel reading, we heard that no one will know when Jesus will return. “Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come,” Mark 13: 33 told us. At St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Stuart, FL – the church I have been attending since I moved to the “Treasure Coast” earlier this year – the sermon focused not on the end of the world, which some fixate on when they think of the topic, but on keeping alert and ready to see Jesus in our lives, especially through those whom our internal biases might lead us to write off or put into a box separate from that of Jesus.

The example used in that sermon focused on a church preparing free hot meals for a group of mothers and children. When a fire breaks out in the kitchen, one of the mothers immediately jumps into action, puts it out, and shares some words of wisdom. Hope – the Advent candle which was lit Sunday – is really an acronym, she said. It stands for “helping other people everywhere.” In that story, the group of church volunteers thought they were assembling to help the group of mothers and children, and yet one of those mothers rose to help the church.

In this sense, Advent may not just be about preparing for Christmas or the second coming, but about preparing our minds to see Jesus in the world we occupy right now.

Some might point to Matthew 25, when Jesus calls on his followers to serve those in need as if they were serving him, saying “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” Today’s assigned eucharistic reading from Luke takes on a similar idea in a different way. Not only could we be charitable to those in need as if they were Jesus; we could listen to the voices of those who may be ignored as if they were Jesus. Whether it was that mother in the church kitchen, “infants” standing amongst those seen as “wise and intelligent,” or a member of a marginalized community who may not have a platform to speak out from. If we prepare to see Jesus in those people this Advent, and we listen to what they have to say, we may be surprised by the wisdom that we hear.

Musical Reflection - Listen - Beyoncé

Gracious God, teach me to listen with the ear of my heart. Amen.
GospelLove Your Neighbor
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#listening

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