Thursday of the Third Week in Advent
Advent and Christmas are seasons of preparation. While awaiting Jesus’s return, we also anticipate the arrival of family and friends.
The holidays bring people to our hearths. We spend extra time getting everything ready. We clean (more than usual)! We cook large meals and make sure there are plenty of snacks. We set the table with fancy dinnerware, place settings, and centerpieces. We wrap gifts, stuff stockings, and mail Christmas cards.
In the in-between time, when we rest from our activities, we can still prepare spiritually for the Lord’s return. Just as we are preparing the way for our visitors, we can also be like John the Baptist, who cleared the path for Jesus and the coming of that inevitable “great and terrible” day of the Lord (Malachi 3:23).
In tandem with preparing our to-do lists for the days to come, we can also pray—simply, quietly, in our own settings and milieus. Verse by verse, we can meditate upon the themes of thanksgiving, healing, and liberation found in Psalm 30. We might find ourselves rejoicing (or even dancing!) as we read the psalmist’s words:
I praise you, Lord, for you raised me up…
At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing…
You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness.
Dear Lord, in the midst of this busy season, may our Advent prayers bring perspective and hope. As we wait for You, clothe us and those we love with gladness. Bring peace, and turn our weeping into dancing. May we experience the light of your presence in our hearts and homes. Amen.
Rachael Griggs