Advent 2020

“It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else be a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.  Nations, cultures, arts, civilization – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals who we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” 

C. S.  Lewis, The Weight of Glory

“Salvation is membership in the family of God…. The creation of a family with children is the reason for all of God’s activity. This is how he intends to show his glory.” 

Sinclair Ferguson

“The glory of God is humanity fully alive.” 

Irenaeus

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come . . . Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent; one waits, hopes, and does this, that, or the other – things that are really of no consequence – the door is shut, and can be opened only from the outside.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from Tegel Prison, 1943

“As a general rule, Americans are a people of action. We don’t take long lunches like the French. We don’t take siestas like the Spanish . . . we Americans think of ourselves as busy, busy, busy making things happen . . . and we are a bit impatient with those who aren’t as full of energy as we are. We don’t like passivity. We don’t like waiting around. So the theme of waiting and watching that permeates the Advent season strikes a false note with us. We give lip service to it, but we don’t take it very seriously. We don’t want to sit around watching and waiting. We want to speed things up. We want to move things along. If God isn’t going to bring the kingdom, we’ll bring it ourselves. That’s our American way.” 

Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” 

Matthew 5:9