News - November 2021 RSS Feed

“Apostolic”. It’s one of the four marks of the church that we recite each time the community gathers as part of the Apostle’s Creed. By saying it is a mark of the church, we mean it’s an essential characteristic. At the same time, it has multiple meanings. It means that the church is rooted in the Apostles, that there is an unbroken line that can be drawn from today’s church to the church of the Apostles. While close scrutiny might suggest that this is more ideal than real, it still indicates a kind of relationship to those first Christian communities that makes it accurate to say that we have inherited the Apostolic tradition. This tradition identifies the church today as Christian, the church founded by Christ and his followers.

The Advent readings today are a healing response to our need for hope and comfort in the words and promises of the Lord. In the first reading from the Book of Isaiah, we read/hear what Isaiah prophesied about the unity of nations and a universal declaration of peaceful ways. The news in our times shows so much animosity and bitterness among hostile nations, polarizing factions within nations, and yes, tumult even within our churches, neighborhoods, and families. Isaiah envisioned many peoples flocking to the house of the Lord "that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” Oh, would that be more a part of our Advent experiences this year!  

Expectations! We all have expectations. A boss has expectations towards a new employee. A newly married man has expectations towards his wife. Expectations can become overwhelming when it seems that they are too much or too high for us; they seem unreachable. Sometimes, we can be trapped in the expectations of many people and even our own. But, what about God’s expectations?

Today’s readings invite us to look back and to look forward.

Las lecturas de hoy nos invitan a mirar hacia el pasado y hacia el futuro.

From the fear of being asked to give more than I have.
Deliver me, Jesus.