Scripture Reflections for the First Sunday of Advent
Year A, Lectionary 1
God is coming. But it is only those who hope for, wait for, and work for God that will meet God. And this happens in our everyday lives, as God comes to us in through various situations and people. May we have the spiritual sight to see and encounter God daily.
Hate feeling lost on Sundays at church? Searching for a better explanation of the Bible than what you hear from your pastor's sermon? Check out the following collection of audio, video, and text commentaries from various Christian experts for a better understanding of today's scripture that deal with: Adam • Advent • Alert • Armor • Awake • Aware • Baptism • Coming • Community • Connection • Creation • Death • Division • End • Faith • Family • Focus • Gather • Hope • Immediacy • Incarnation • John the Baptist • Joy • Judgment • Light • Longing • Love • Mountain • Noah • Nonviolence • Prayer • Prepare • Priority • Prophet • Ready • Receptive • Recognize • Reflect • Repent • Respond • Revelation • Sloth • Time • Trust • Unity • Urgency • Wait • Wisdom • Worship •
“It's a prophecy of the new creation and of the fact that at that time God is gonna come and he's gonna judge between the nations, between the righteous and the unrighteous...there's gonna be an end to warfare, it's going to be a time of peace, a time of salvation”
“Paul is presupposing that the Roman Christians are being called to spiritual battle. It's the battle against the darkness and the sin of this world and the battle against our own inclinations to sin that we all experience within our hearts and in our minds.”
“The Lord would want us to prepare not for presents but for the presence, the presence of Christ”
“when Jesus says 'one is taken and one is left'...if you think about the imagery of the, of the flood as the background...what Jesus is essentially getting in here is the separation of the righteous and the wicked that will take place at the final judgment”
“This holy season of Advent reminds us that the decisive moment is not later, it is now. So, wake up if you are asleep. If you are awake, stay awake.”
“Advent is not about waiting for God to act. Advent is about waking up to where God is already working and joining God in that work.”
“Advent is a time for you and I to realize that God always hears us. But here's the question: do we hear what God is speaking back to us?”
“Advent is a time to clear away what dims the flame. It is a season to let God rekindle that inner fire so that when the true light comes he finds us already shining.”
“So let's leave our Advent lights on, let's light a candle perhaps as we start this New Year because it's not a matter of if, but when he's coming to join us”
“Is our relationship with God so shallow that 'close enough' is sufficient?”
“God doesn't need Christmas, we do to see love manifested in Christ Jesus”
“The season of Advent comes to wake us up. To remind us of the fact that we do not have all the time in the world and that it can happen now for us to lose all that we have now. So make the best of all that you have.”
“Today's readings, like our Advent candles, invite us into a sacred time. First they heed us to take notice, then they encourage us to stay awake, and finally they advise us to be prepared.”
“So many things give me hope this Advent. I really believe that we as a human family are marching, maybe slowly, but we're still marching toward this second coming of Christ by engaging in works of peace, justice and mercy.”
“The readings for the First Sunday of Advent calls us to walk in the light, calls us to wake up and see what's going on around us, to recognize how we are living false lies. Lies that divide us against one another rather than unite us”
“We all know that Christ the King will triumphantly return at the end of the world but make no mistake, he's trying to enter into our lives each and every day like a thief in the night”