37:1-18; 37:19-42
Amos 9:1-10 Rev. 2:8-17 Matt. 23:13-26
I used to deliver a children’s message at my church, and one of the challenges in the season of Advent was to help children understand that this season is the beginning of a new year according to the church calendar. I remember them, surprised and confused, telling me, “But, it’s still December.”
For many of us, December is the month of the grand finale, and we get really busy. Final reports, packed schedules, and holiday splendors easily distract us from the holiness and sereness of the season. The last verse from the Gospel reading for today reminds us of what we are asked to do now: “First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean” (12:26). Isn’t this supposed to be our attitude as we anticipate the coming of our redeemer? As we begin a new year of the church?
So today we may remember this: ’Tis the season that we calm down and slow down. ’Tis the season that we look inside of ourselves and clean our hearts. ’Tis the season that we open a new year of faith with our everything attuned to God whose love is manifested in the advent of God’s only child, Jesus Christ.
God of grace,
Give me a clean heart to see you more clearly;
Give me a clean heart to love you more dearly.
Amen.
