Memorize & Ponder for Sunday Nov 30, 2014
Found By Hope
1 Corinthians 1:4-5 (NRSV)
I give thanks to my God always for you
because of the grace of God
that has been given to you in Christ Jesus,
for in every way you have been enriched in him,
in speech and knowledge of every kind …“
Throughout 2014, the Christian community at Brentwood Presbyterian Church is getting to know Jesus, the Christ, in a refreshing and transformative way. We invite you to listen for what the Spirit is saying in the text, then question how those insights might change the ways you see things and act in the world. Share your thoughts during the week on the meaning the Spirit creates for you in this text by posting a comment on our website – brentwoodpc.ca.
A Provocative Pondering
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us provoke one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together … (Hebrews 10:23-25a)
Christians do things differently because they see things differently. Take telling time, for example. There is a Christian year that helps the disciples of Jesus, the Christ, remember his gracious service to the creation and shape their worth, work, and witness to reflect his worth, work, and witness.
That year begins next Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent. Between now and Christmas, we anticipate what is coming. The word comes from the Latin for ‘arrival.’ What is arriving, when it first happened, was not expected, especially in the way it happened. The God who created all that was, is, and will be too human flesh and dwelt among us in order to call us back into a flourishing relationship with the source of our being – that community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that is this God.
During this season of Advent, we consider and celebrate God’s arriving and finding us – where we are, how we are, who we are – just as we are. There was no clear and apparent preparation for this redeeming and transformative act of God. It just happened – in an insignificant little town in the backwater of a mighty empire. It was there that God chose to come and find us, to come and redeem us, to come and transform us back into their beloved children and friends. It is here God comes again to find us, redeem us, and transform us. Are you open to their arrival?