November 29, 2020
Perhaps more than any year before, we are ready for Christmas! So let the excitement grow; let the buzz be felt. As adults, however, we know that there is work to be done before the season can really get underway. Company Is Coming! We must be ready to receive the guests. We are faced with two questions: “How will I welcome the Christ who comes? But also, how will I welcome my neighbors and family you may not know yet into your midst?” Advent is also a penitential season, which means that we aren’t just preparing our external space to receive the Guest and our guests. We are also preparing our internal space for that reception. Worship, therefore, needs to include both times of reflection and acts of repentance. We begin the season of Advent by acknowledging our need to clean house, because “Company’s Coming”.
Share a story of preparation. (It might be preparing to go on a long trip, preparing to welcome a new family member, preparing for reconstruction work, or something else.)
How is Advent in general a time of spiritual preparation? What (and Who) are we preparing for?
How has all that has happened in 2020 shaken off a sense of complacency and normalcy? How is the season of Advent a reminder that God is with us in the chaos?
Where do we see Mark affirm that even when things seem to be falling apart around us, God is faithful?
Why do you think that Jesus feels the need to state that: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away?” Why is this so critical for the disciples to know?
How might this season of Advent be a time when you can prepare yourself to experience God’s presence more fully?
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