I am beginning my call as your presbytery executive in the season of advent. Advent is the season of waiting. During advent, we light the candles of hope, faith, joy, and peace on the advent wreath, and we end with the lighting of the Christ candle.
Advent is a time to stop and reflect on our calling in Christ. As Presbyterians, we believe everyone is called to a particular vocation. This calling challenges each of us to serve our society and the world. In her book, The Spirit of Advent: The Meaning is in the Waiting, Paula Gooder reflects on the calling of Abraham and Sarah and how their lives can guide us in our sense of call and vocation. She writes, “With God the command is both to go and to come. The ‘go’ element involves leaving behind many things; the command to ‘come’ involves knowing that God will accompany us on the journey.”
Many believe a great change of vocation is happening in the church because of the pandemic. Pastors are changing congregations, and many are leaving the ministry. I am learning that experiencing the change that comes with a call includes both grasping and letting go. What may God be calling you to let go of?
Advent is a time to believe that the God who comes to us in Jesus Christ is the God who calls us to wait. We are called to wait for the seeds of faith that have been planted in our spirit to sprout into new life. For me, as I pray about the future of the Presbytery of Chicago, I wait in anxious anticipation for fruitful congregations, chaplains, teachers, ministry partnerships, new worshiping communities, and other specialized ministries to bud, blossom, and bloom, all in God’s time. What do you find yourself waiting for during this Advent season?
Advent is a time for change. God’s change in God’s time. Change may mean letting go. It often means loss and grief. Gooder writes, “God’s call to us remains a call to change: to leaving and accompanying, to moving and changing, to growing and flourishing. It is part of human nature to yearn for stability, to put down roots, and to stay put; but it is also a rule of nature that things that do not move do not live.” What changes are you welcoming into your life this Advent?
Advent is a call to life. As we embrace the core elements of our life in Christ – hope, faith, joy, and peace–we enjoy the happiness of God through the fruit of the Spirit. Blessings to all during this Advent season as we engage the Triune God and find new life together. Amen.
Rev. Craig M. Howard
