Link to Love’s Pure Light devotional from Dwell App here:
https://tinyurl.com/yysjvwjm
𝘗𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝟷𝟸𝟼 𝘏𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘶𝘬 𝟸:𝟷-𝟻 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝟹:𝟽-𝟷𝟷
𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺; 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺.
–St. John Climacus
In yesterday’s reflection we spoke of the necessity of attentiveness, faithfully waiting for our Lord to arrive. To extend this image further, what do we do when our guest seems delayed? Do we eat without him? Do we anxiously call or repeatedly send messages asking for an update? Or perhaps we cancel the meal entirely and head to bed. Rarely do we do the one thing we are meant to do: keep on looking!
The inability to patiently wait and trust the Lord’s timing has plagued his people from the very beginning. What did the Israelites do when Moses was delayed on Mount Sinai? They took matters into their own hands and made a golden calf to worship as a god (Ex. 32). What do we do when our expectations and God’s timing seem out of sync? So often, we quickly assume God to be either uninvolved or uninterested in the cares and concerns of life, and therefore believe we must become masters of our own destiny.
Extended seasons of waiting allow impatience, weariness, and even bitter resentment to take root in our hearts and lives. It is a daily struggle to keep watch amid such great pain and sorrow, and often we fail. Yet Advent is not a time to dwell upon our failures but to rejoice in the goodness and faithfulness of God. Hard as it may be, we press on courageously, looking for the day when God will finally set the world right. As he promises through the prophet Habakkuk, “(If that final day) seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay” (Hab. 2:3).
𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲
We struggle with unscheduled time, choosing to pursue constant distraction and stimulation rather than waiting attentively in the moment. In light of this, fast today from inattentiveness by using your phone only for essential tasks. Resist the urge to pull it out and scroll whenever there is a gap in your day or lull in the conversation. Reclaim that time and wait attentively for the Lord in prayer.
