Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. - Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent
I often lament the loss of our appreciation for theological language. Words like sin and repentance are often ceded over to people or theological perspectives that foster fear of God rather than a wholehearted embrace of the God who loves us. By not using these words anymore, we lose an important component of our own growth.
Sin in our catechism is defined as, “the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation” (Book of Common Prayer, page 848). Notice that nowhere does it say we are terrible people, not created in the image of God. Instead, it calls us to pay attention to the ways in which our decisions may distort the relationships of wholeness we crave and the wholeness God wants for us. I suspect that is not what comes to mind when people hear the word but paying attention to the ways in which my relationships are not congruent with God’s hopes for me is an important spiritual discipline. When I discover that distortion is present, then I can address it and work moving toward my own growth.
Similarly, the word repentance can sound like an invitation to give a terrifying accounting of all our failures but to repent is to just turn around. To see that you are headed in a direction that is not life-giving and choose to go another way. Much like the wise men go home by another road after the experience of the baby in the manger, we to can choose to travel a different way which acknowledges the power of Christ’s light in our life. We can create moments of gratefulness and intentionally choose joy. When something causes you to feel distant from God or others, it might be worth asking yourself whether a turn is in order.
The ending of this Sunday’s collect is important. We repent and turn so we may, “Greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer.” What helps you prepare for joy? Perhaps creating time for silence and reflection or enjoying one of our beautiful musical Advent offerings like Lessons and Carols or finding fellowship with people we love is the preparation we need to engage in this season. We might have to say a holy “no” to some things, but if joy is the result, I suspect we will not regret the decision.
Peace, Beth +