The Zeal of the Lord: Part 2

The Coming of the Lord: God With Us

We are blessed to read these scriptures from the retrospective view of the days of prophetic foretelling & the blessed birth of Jesus the Holy Child of God. We know of His birth, His kingdom come & how it reflects the love & promises of God. We feel the hope, peace, love & joy of the promised Messiah & we know of & hopefully believe in the promised gifts of forgiveness, salvation & glory of our Lord. Yet, though we walk by faith not always by sight, we know that the reality of the promises He brings here on earth are not yet fully realized, for there continues to be warring, injustice & righteousness that is not extended to all. I don’t think it can be denied that though we do live in a covenant relationship with God, our hope sometimes feels like it is waning.

As we rush around preparing in this season, it is important for all believers to pause & to ask themselves whether we have given up & surrendered our hope in the promise of His coming or whether we are truly preparing our hearts to receive, renew & celebrate the gift of the coming of the Holy Son of God, who is fully human & fully Divine - (God present with us.)We are all called into a covenant relationship with God & as such are to live in service to the Lord, reflecting His light & thus growing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We know God’s will. The question is; have we lived in faith according to His will reflecting hope, peace, love & joy as we celebrate God with us, or have we given up & closed the doors of our hearts when it seems more convenient to do things our own way, ignoring the Glory of God’s gift of His Son?

In this season that we refer to as Advent, which means the season of anticipation & hope for the coming of our Lord, I invite all believers to open our hearts to re- visit the words: “Here I am, a servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to His word”. As servants of the Lord, may our preparation be focused on increasing to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of God’s Holy Son & to serve Him day-by-day, with praise & thanksgiving, so to reflect His hope, peace, love & joy. As a way to prepare our hearts for the coming of God with us, I invite you all to sing or say the words from this prayerful Advent hymn of faith entitled: “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”

“Come thou long expected Jesus. Born to set thy people free.

From our fears & sins release us. Let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s strength & consolation. Hope of all the earth thou are.

Dear desire of every nation. Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver. Born a child & yet a king.

Born to reign in us forever. Now thy gracious Kingdom bring.

By thy own eternal spirit. Rule in all our hearts alone.

By thy own sufficient merit. Raise us to thy glorious throne”

AMEN

~Posted by Rev Kathryn Bindig, MDiv. MS; Pastoral Care Minister with assistance from Rich Muscatello; Director of Business Development & Strategy