This year’s Advent series is called ‘Coming Soon’. We’ll be looking at this season through the lens of the four themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, which are the four themes most commonly associated with the Advent Wreath. Today we’ll be looking at the theme of Hope, something which seems to be in short … Continue reading The Advent of Hope
As I’ve noted, as the liturgical year has been winding down over the past few weeks, the Gospel readings turn to apocalyptic messages: Stay alert! Be bold enough to imagine a Kingdom where justice and compassion reign! Judgment is coming! These these themes become even more heightened today as we step into the season of … Continue reading An Apocalyptic Season: A Reflection for Advent 1 2023
Once again, as November winds down, the Western Christian liturgical year is also winding down. In fact, the liturgical ‘new year’ is this coming Sunday. As I was planning my Advent series for this year, I realized that I hadn’t yet reflected on the traditional Advent themes, represented in the candles of the Advent wreath: … Continue reading Coming Soon: A Series for Advent 2023
Today is December 21 and so we’re nearing the end of our Advent journey. The waiting and watching is almost over; the bridegroom is about to arrive; we can see the first inklings of morning light on the Eastern horizon. And yet, for many of us, what we actually find on Christmas morning isn’t exactly … Continue reading Joy and Sorrow, Excitement and Anxiety: An Advent Reflection on Isaiah 52-53
One of the themes that has emerged in this Advent series on Isaiah’s oracles of hope has been new life appearing where you least expect it — lush green in the desert, a sapling emerging from a burned out stump — and from the most humble of beginnings — a seed, a remnant. The Old … Continue reading With Us Within the Ambiguity of Life: An Advent Reflection on Isaiah 7.10-17
Matthew Root 