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Morning Devotion for the Season of Advent

November 30, 2022

Invitatory

Watch, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockrow, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come let us adore him.

Reading - Matthew 4:18-22

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

Today is the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle. Though not part of the elite “cool crowd” around Jesus (that was Peter, James, and John), Andrew was one of the very first disciples to be called, along with his brother Peter. Before the call to follow Jesus, Andrew had followed John the Baptist after hearing him speak. Clearly this was a man willing to listen to others, willing to leave his life behind when he felt moved to follow another. He had what I describe as a spirit of yes. While many of us (myself included) tend to approach things with caution, Andrew seemed to have no trouble saying “yes!” and changing the whole course of his life at the drop of a hat.

On Sunday, the Gospel text from Matthew reminded us: “about that day and hour, no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Advent is a season of waiting and of expectation for the return of Jesus. We cannot know the day and hour it will take place. We are very likely to be, like Andrew, out in our metaphorical boats, at work or running errands. That is when Christ will come again. When we least expect it. And I don’t think many of us will be ready for it. Unlike Andrew, we do not live in a state of readiness for the unknown. We calculate and plan.If Jesus came back while I was at my desk responding to an email or writing a sermon, I would probably ask him to hold on just a minute while I saved my work. But that is not how Christ’s return is going to work, and it is not what we should plan for in the second coming.

God is constantly trying to reach us and make Himself known to us. We must work to cultivate a spirit of “yes” so that we are constantly actively open to God’s power and presence in our lives and in the world. That is the spirit Andrew had when Jesus approached him. There was no hesitation, only a yes. I am reminded in this spirit of the quote Jo Ann shared in her sermon on Sunday, from UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been, Thanks. To all that shall be, Yes.” With Andrew as a model, and with the always yes approach, we can see God all around us and we can be ready to face Jesus whenever he returns.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory

for ever and ever. Amen.