Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with
righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be
worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your
Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.
Advent is a season
characterized by waiting, silence, and passivity. It is for this reason that I was struck by
the collect for the first Sunday of Advent.
The prayer asks for the resolve “to
run forth” to meet Christ. This is
far from passive; it denotes activity, energy, and initiative that I have never
really associated with this season.
Hearing that was an
invitation to approach Advent in the same way that runners finish a race (not
that I have much experience in this regard, but I have watched a cross country
race or two). After the sprint to set
oneself away from the pack, the pace evens out somewhere in the middle of the
race, but when it comes to the home stretch, the athletes sprint forward to
reach the finish line, and sometimes the last 500 feet can change the outcome
of the race.
Many of us experience
exhaustion at this time of year. Days
are shorter, darkness longer. The
calendar year is winding down, classes are finishing up for the semester, and
it seems that there is a lot to be done in a little bit of time. Passivity and silence appeal to me in the
midst of all these factors. But the
Church prays as she believes. Like a
good Mother, she knows that we need resolve to finish strong. We need resolve to take on this season of
Advent with energy and passion, running forth to meet the God who comes to meet
us.
So
stretch your soul this Advent, lace up your running shoes and “run so as to
win” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
- Sister M. Karolyn, FSGM
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