Advent Begins

Today is the first day of Advent, the season of four weeks before Christmas that prepare us for the coming of God's Commonwealth of peace and justice. It is a season of eschatological hope in which we both proclaim and wait for the fulfillment of God's promise. This is a time of both the "not yet" and "already" of our faith in which we anxiously look forward to the coming Reign of peace while simultaneously announcing the initiation of that reality in the birth of Christ, God made flesh.

This year at Cambridge Welcoming Ministries our theme is "The Inconvenient Truth of the Commonwealth of God." As we await and celebrate God's promise of peace and justice, we will focus our liturgy and meditation on ecological justice as an integral part of that total vision. We understand that the peace which we proclaim is not just for humans, but for all of Creation. Echoed in the words of the prophets, we hear God's promise that the whole of the earth shall experience this joy. The lion shall lie down with the lamb, the mountains and the hills will break forth in praise and the trees shall rejoice. God's vision for a new world order includes all of Creation, all things that live and breathe and flourish upon the earth.

Each week we will frame our worship around each of the four elements: earth, fire, water and wind as we proclaim our Advent theme that the "truth that overturns expectations and the status quo will produce fear and confusion; but this truth is good news. Those who trust in it will find peace and joy and guidance concerning the ways of God which lead to abundant, but not easy, living."

Take time this season to meditate each day on the wonder and responsibility of being part of God's Creation. This may take form as silent prayer, reading and reflecting on scared texts, biblical or other, learning more about the environmental crisis, adopting an ecological spiritual discipline (click here for a list of actions you can take) or giving an offering to a local or national group that fosters environmental justice.

How strange and wonderful is our home, our earth,

With its swirling, vaporous atmosphere,

Its flowing and frozen climbing creatures,

The croaking things with wings that hang on rocks

And soar through fog, the furry grass, the scaly seas…

How utterly rich and wild…

Yet some among us have the nerve,

The insolence, the brass, the gall to whine

About the limitations of our earthbound fate

And yearn for some more perfect world beyond the sky.

We are none of us good enough

For the world we have.

- Edward Abbey