Prayers
for Advent
“All
the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single
word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”
Winston
Churchill
I
wonder what you are waiting and hoping for this holiday season. Are
you waiting for him to go to Jared? Or preparing for the avalanche of
family that will descend upon you? Are you hopeful that you will get through
the stress of expectations without killing somebody? Do you pray for
patience and fortitude? If you answered 'yes' to any of these,
you're in the right place. The season of Advent is all about waiting
and patience, preparation and hope. We're a long way from hoping for
the second coming, and yet we're still yearning for some important
things.
Right
now, we're waiting for the folks in Washington to pull up
their big-girls and act like adults. We're hoping that 2013
will not see a new war or another recession. We're preparing for
another round of severe weather and super storms. Our patience
is wearing thin but our only choice is to wait...and hope...and
expect.
Our
hopes and prayers tend to be centered close to home. As the Dalai
Lama says, “All people just want to be happy and free from worry.”
We'd like to have a year of peace; of lower anxiety about the world's
economy, and of relative security at home and around the world. We'd
like to think about other things—happier things. Some words we'd
like NOT to hear in the new year are fiscal cliff, gridlock, economic
downturn, renewed fighting. The Messiah cannot fulfill these hopes and dreams; they
require the actions of flawed human beings.
During
this Advent season, let us pray for the great things—the simple
things—peace, justice, mercy, hope, duty, honor, and above all
intelligent leadership. May it be so.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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