31; 35
Haggai 1:1-15 Rev. 2:18-29 Matt. 23:27-39
Are you tired? I suspect that the people to whom Haggai spoke were too.
They lived in the ruins of their hopes and dreams; desperately trying to rebuild a life for themselves. But it was never enough, all their work amounts to nothing. They are concerned only about their own affairs they work for themselves and only themselves. And so God sets them a task: to rebuild the center of their communal life.
Today I hope we are reminded that focus on the self alone will never satisfy. But when we lift our gaze from the self to the wider world, and begin to work for the well being of others; we become happier.
We know the way we have ordered our lives is deeply broken. We have plundered and abused this garden world, built an economy of suffering, prioritized our own choices over the lives of fellow humans.
If change feels impossible, remember God’s message: when all seems lost, look beyond yourself, join others in building something tangible for the whole community. This Advent we are invited to lift our eyes from our own very real struggles and to ask what is it that God asks our generation to build?
A world forever changed by climate catastrophe? A world of unending sickness and division? Or a different world, fit for the Lord of Life to dwell within?
Holy One, break our hearts open to your call; so we might be a light to the world, and show forth your love for all creation.
Listen to Josephine read her Advent meditation and prayer:
