The Themes of Advent – Faith
Today is the Second Sunday of Advent and the theme for
the second candle we light during our worship today is faith.
I think last year we assigned the theme peace to the
second week – but it doesn’t particularly matter. The great virtues of hope,
faith, joy, peace, and love are all present every week during the Advent
Season.
Another name for this candle is the Bethlehem Candle,
and so I’d like to tie the theme of faith with Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem
in anticipation of our Lord’s birth
Using an acrostic of the word FAITH, here are some
thoughts on how we might demonstrate the faith of the Holy Couple in our lives
today.
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| The Second Sunday of Advent |
F – Follow. When the Holy Spirit prompts us to act, we should follow God's direction. Like Mary and Joseph who accepted the miraculous event that was about to occur in their lives, we should be open to God's leading.
A – Adventure. When we're open to God's call, it will definitely be an adventure. Another word might be 'assignment.' When we accept a divine assignment, we're guaranteed, like the Holy Couple, an amazing journey.
I – Immanuel. Why? Because "God is with us" - the meaning of the Hebrew word, Immanuel. (Emmanuel is the same word, coming from the Greek.) Jesus promised never to leave us or forsake us. He's always with us.
T – Trust. Therefore, we can trust him. Trust is another word for faith, to believe 'into' the person we're following. We can trust God to lead us in His paths which are always good and right.
H – Honor. In response, we honor God with our lives of worship, our gifts of time and resources, our devotion. Like Mary who sang her Magnificat, we return honor and praise to the Creator and Savior of the universe.
Have a wonderful second Sunday of Advent. How will you be celebrating the Season?
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Keep it clean and positive. (And sorry about the word verification, but the spmb*ts are out in full force!)