Advent Reflection #3

Sorry folks I thought I had posted this and I only had it saved, so here it is.


So the third Sunday of Advent has come and gone, that means that three candles were lit, and this week's was the pink one. In the more strict liturgical settings, the time of Advent is also a time of fasting, as well as the time of introspection, examination, confession and repentance. So on the third week, celebrated as the week for joy, the candle was/is pink to signify the end of the fast.
That's why it was joyful, it's time to eat.
In some churches this week is marked by a fellowship meal after the worship service.

The Scriptures this week,(Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6, Philippians 4:4-7,
Luke 3:7-18) all had the thread of "joy" in them. What I focused on was the Philippians passage, and the other thread that shows up.

"The Lord is near."
There is actually a lot that can be said about this passage, but I want to try to restrict my comments to this phrase, "The Lord is near.". What a comforting thought to know that the Lord is near. Jesus Himself promised that He would be with us always, (Matthew 28:20). Scholars of course toss this around, trying to figure out what was meant here. whether it was about the second coming, or rather it was about the fact that the Lord is in and around us. Which truth be told, they are both correct, for my use I chose to focus on the Lord being in/with us now and a "very present help in trouble".

The prophetic passage in Zephaniah 3:14-20 brings this thought out too, twice in the passaage these words appear, "...(Lord/God) is in your midst..." "midst" here is from a Hebrew word meaning "your inward parts, your inner most being", it is interesting to note that the prophet was refering to something that we would experience now because of Christ, the Lord living in us.

Back to Philippians; this tells us to let our "gentle spirit be known to all men", to "rejoice in he Lord always", to "be anxious for nothing", this can only be accomplished by having the Lord in our midst. What joy to know that as Christians we are not looking forward to some unknown phenomenon. This is our life our experience, or it should be. To know that the very Creator of all life lives in us, here is a mystery that we live in every day, we are the mystery.

To add to this, in my Bible next to the Phillippians passage I have written, "I am the only Bible some people will read." What a sobering thought, how am I representing the Lord who lives in me?