Happy New Year!
Advent marks the new year of the Christian Church. Advent is the season of anticipation, the season when Christians await the arrival of their Lord in the form of an infant. Advent is the season when we prepare for the incarnation, the moment at which Almighty God, the ground and source of all being, came to the world in human form. Contemplating the incarnation is difficult—in fact, trying to provide a definitive explanation far exceeds even the most sophisticated theological mind. But the meaning of incarnation is clear. God loved the world so much that God came into it as a person—came into the world to save each one of us from our sin, to show us the way of love and peace, to give us eternal life. During Advent we anticipate these gifts, the gifts brought about by the incarnation. It is a time to look past the darkness of this often sinful, painful, and confusing world, and forward with hope to the gifts of love and peace which God has in store for each and every one of us! It is time to look forward with hope to the ultimate gift of eternal life promised to each of us through our Baptism!
Peace,
Pastor Thomas
