The Renewal of All Things: Parishioner Reflection on the 2nd Week of Advent

God has a passionate desire to bring all men to Him, renewing all things.

The prophets often spoke in the midst of sorrow and confusion, the aftermath of destruction and displacement, and when God’s people had turned away. They relayed His call for repentance and reform, the hope of restoration, and the promise of all nations coming to know Him.

Isaiah declared images of peace, and restored relationships — between God and man, men with each other, and creation. Joel proclaimed the promise of God’s Spirit being poured out on all people.

In our broken world, we retain these longings: For an end to violence and injustice, for people to return to God or to encounter Him for the first time, and for a deeper communion with God ourselves. As much as these longings can make us impatient, God desires them even more than we do. He is patient with His timing (2 Peter 3:9), and relies on our cooperation in order to fulfill His plans.

Jesus said His family are those who do the will of His Father. Although it is rare to be greeted by an angel announcing God’s will, God comes to us daily through the Holy Spirit, speaking to our hearts in numerous ways. It is, perhaps, the humble and courageous, like the Holy Family, who, because they have placed the Lord at the center of their lives, most fully respond with the gift of self to God and others.

As we make more room for God in our hearts this Advent, may we find peace in His words of hope. And may we yield more fully to the Spirit, bringing good news to the poor, soothing the broken-hearted, setting free the captive, and comforting the mournful until all are united in the family of God.