Scripture Reflection with Deacon Greg Kolbinger
Deacon Greg Kolbinger
On this first Sunday in Advent, we invite you to walk with Jesus as you contemplate the Life Within You. Our anticipation, waiting, and longing for the Savior to come into our lives, and set things right that have gone wrong, moves us to reexamine our hearts and motives.
We are encouraged to decide anew, will I follow the world and my own path, or will I begin again with the newborn Savior, the process of conversion and hope fulfilled?
In the readings for this first Sunday of Advent, we hear from Jerimiah that "The days are coming , says the Lord when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel", and to you.”
Just as a mother and father will guide a child, God himself promises to guide us into the ways of his truth. The Gospel today speaks of being perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves, and we in our present time are perplexed by the roaring of division in how to deal with COVID, or elections, or even considering who is an alien to me.
The Gospel reminds us that the struggles of each day are filled with anxieties that can overcome us, but we are asked to welcome him into our lives and hearts, to begin again, slowly at first with that small spark of hope, which with God's grace over the next few weeks will awaken our eyes and hearts to really see him in our neighbor, and become part of the his light that will change our world.
“When these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. ”
What line stood out to you most from today’s Gospel (Luke 21:25-28, 24-26)? Why?
How can the readings and reflections offer you comfort or inspire you this day?