How have you seen God’s justice at work in the world?

Years ago, I attended an Advent retreat in which the retreat leader challenged us to consider what it is we are waiting for in this season. “The most disastrous answer you can give is nothing!” he declared. I blinked at the vehemence with which he made this pronouncement.

When our first-born daughter was ready to celebrate her sixth birthday, we promised she could have a party and invite all of the girls in her kindergarten class. From the beginning, I worried about hosting a party for 20 in our small home.

It had been a very difficult day at work, a day filled with anxieties and conflicts and much uncertainty. I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. All I wanted to do was go home, lie on the couch, and watch TV. Maybe I’d pull a blanket up over my head and go to sleep.

As we begin our preparation for the birth of the Lord, we ask God to forgive us for the times we have turned away from God.

The Advent mystery is the beginning of the end of all in us that is not yet Christ.