By Joanne Gallardo, campus pastor
This week’s theme: On the road to readiness
This week’s Scriptures: Isaiah 64:1-9 | Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 | 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 | Mark 13:24-37
This year, it seems we’ve all been on a journey. That might be a journey of self discovery, how to cope with life during a pandemic, or how to best use the gifts we’ve been given to be salt and light to the world around us.
This year’s advent theme is “On the road…” The idea comes from the Magi traveling East, literally on the road, all for the sake of encountering Jesus. As we reflect on our own journeys and our own roads, what are the “mile markers” that give us strength for the journey, a bit of hope that we are indeed getting closer to Christ?
For me, some of the mile markers happen when I choose to respond in love instead of anger to people who disagree with me. That brings me closer to Jesus. When I find myself praying without ceasing, that is another mile marker that brings me closer to Jesus. When I see God in my neighbor, that brings me even closer.
So while our theme is “On the road,” it is my fervent wish that we not only think about our journeys and the road ahead, but also what gives us encouragement, nourishment, and “mile markers” along the way to help us know that we are, if ever so slowly, inching closer to Jesus. Strength to you as we all journey forward, and be on the lookout for signs that we, as a body of believers, are getting closer.