The Mainline Minister

The weather app on my phone reported a brisk 16 degrees this morning when Chip and I left for the school bus stop.  We wore hats and coats, but were still caught off guard by just how nippy it was.  Yes, Thanksgiving was behind us; yes, the church had just been decorated for Christmas; yes, December would begin tomorrow.  Still, deep in our hearts, we were not ready for the arrival of the kind of temperatures that are not a fluke but are seasonally appropriate.  In short, we were not ready for it to be, well, winter. Fortunately, the calendar tells us, winter won't be with us for another few weeks.  We have time to prepare.  This morning's chill weather was a sign, a signal, that the season is turning, that we should make ready.  Snow, and ice, and frigid spells are on their way.  But we can be ready.  We can lay in shovels and rock salt and fire wood and cocoa and all of the other things that will carry us through the winter. Advent is like this. It seems like we

What are we waiting for? That's the question before us as we start a new church year. What are we waiting for? Presents? Parties? If you're reading this, the odds are you're more focused on the spiritual side of life.  You want more than stuff and merriment.  Perhaps actual Christmas carols during church. But let's reflect on that desire for a moment.  Carols are wonderful.  Fun to sing.  Filled with meaning.  But they're about the birth of the Christ child.  And, frankly, we're not ready for him.  We need to prepare.  That's why we have a season of Advent.  It's a time when we can acknowledge that while each of us wants many things, we need a time to slow down and ask God to help us discern what we need . This Advent, be still, be prayerful, listen attentively.  I'm hopeful that our time of waiting, shaped by God, will not be in vain, that it will be rewarded with the things we need: joy, peace, grace, life.