The Bible readings for the First Sunday of Advent are gathered around the theme of hope and staying awake, or alert.
Isaiah 64:1-9, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37 [LINK]
The challenge in all of them is to realize that the world is not normal. It’s not how it’s supposed to be. It’s broken, unjust, twisted, upside down. On this First Sunday of Advent, also the first day of the year in the Christian liturgical calendar, the year starts in the tension of the now and not yet, the way things appear and the way they will be, the normal we’re used to, and the new normal that God will make, and is making already, real.
How do you settle for what you see, or have become accustomed to, as opposed to being woke to what God is doing to bring justice, peace and grace to populate our world and become the vernacular of all our relationships?