2nd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent are:

1. Baruch 5: 1-9
2. Psalms 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
3. Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11
4. Luke 3: 1-6

1. Mercy me
• Do you feel a strong sense of God's mercy towards you?
• How important to you feel such a sense is in our relationship toward God?
• To cultivate that sense of God's mercy, should we pay more attention to God's action in our lives, or our actions towards God?
2. Story time
• My mother is fond of saying that before TV, families would sit together and recount family stories from the past.  I suspect that such tales helped the family establish an identity, and give everyone a sense of being rooted.
• What are the stories that you tell around the dinner table, or at family reunions?
• What are the stories of our faith, our community, our parish?
• Who should be telling those stories?
• Who should be hearing them?
3. Work in progress
• Have you ever felt "stalled" in your relationship with Jesus, as though you just could not get it out of first gear?
• What do you think those times mean?
• What did you do to get through those episodes?
• Are the something that you need to get through?
4. Is there a prophet in the house?
• Who do you see as the voices for justice in our world today?
• If injustice is going to happen regardless whether we speak up or not, isn't it just smarter to "lay low"?
• Whose business is it to speak up anyway?
• Can you have too many prophets?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. When was the last time I appreciated the mercy of God in my life?
2. When was the last time that I recounted a real blessing that God had given me to someone else?
3. Do I take stock of where I am on the journey?
4. Am I content to let others speak up for the oppressed around me?

Holy Waiting

Waiting for something to ripen properly is the hardest thing of all.
It takes great faith, and diligence.
But the danger is, that I'll not be able to pay proper attention
If I am in a frenzy all of the time,
And I'll miss the first, gentle appearance
Of the Christ in my life.

All because I couldn't wait for Him.

Shalom!