Spiritual (11/28/2025)

This weekend we begin the beautiful season of Advent. It is a time of hopeful anticipation. It is a time of preparation. It is a time of adding lights as our natural light decreases. It is a time marked with festivities, holiday parties, gift searching and gift giving. But most of all, it is a spiritual time, a time to recognize that while we are physical, emotional, and intellectual, we are most essentially spiritual. It is a time to welcome our Savior as we remember that first Christmas and a time to anticipate His second coming. And it is a time to acknowledge that the true path to our enduring reality is spiritual.

As we prepare for the season, let us recognize that while there are a ton of physical elements like decorations and gifts, we must tend especially to the spiritual elements of the season, we must open ourselves and our schedules to spiritual exercises.

What will each of us do to mark the season and to open ourselves daily to the love of the LORD that both necessitated and facilitated that first Christmas? What will we do to acknowledge that we aren’t perfect and need our LORD’s loving mercy and salvation? What will we do to open ourselves to that loving mercy and our hearts and lives the presence of Christ?

Let us look at this advent not only as a time to prepare for the celebration of Christmas, but to better prepare our homes, our lives, our minds, and our hearts for the transformative presence of Christ. And let us make new habits that ensure that we are not just inviting Christ as a seasonal guest but as our LORD who we invite to remain in us as we remain in Him.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.