Sunday, November 30th, is the beginning of Advent, a time of preparation and expectation. Christians look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth, the first advent, and look forward to his return, the second advent. Most Christians honor and acknowledge Jesus as God incarnated.
Advent is also a time of reflection. In his book, Growing into God, John R. Mabry shares that he asks his spiritual direction clients questions that seem appropriate for all of us during this season.
Who is it that we are expecting: Is it the God of our childhood, the God that is based on what people taught us? We might ask ourselves about the qualities of this God and how we feel when we think of this God. Or, are we expecting the God we wish God would be? Or, perhaps we are expecting the God we wonder whether God could be.
Who are you expecting? How do you feel about the God you expect? If you are uncomfortable with your expected God, how did you find this understanding of God? Does everyone have the same understanding of God?
Answers to these questions, and those Mabry posed will affect not only your experience of Advent, but also your experience of our prayers and worship (or lack thereof.)
Who are you expecting?