Prepare To Be The Light

There are many phrases and words associated with this Season of Advent -- getting ready, waiting, reflection, looking forward, anticipation, the coming, meditation.

Today, what came to the forefront of my thoughts was PREPARATION.

Many Christians talk about preparing for what or who is coming. The baby Jesus. The Light. The Sun. All Love. The image is of a Coming from the outside, from the Heavens, from somewhere else to save us from our brokenness, wrongness, suffering. History and the Bible shows us that for that ultimate Coming, we're going to be waiting a long time.

And what do we do in the meantime?

During Advent, we prepare. Not for a power outside ourselves to bring the Kingdom, the Beloved Community. We prepare ourselves by stirring up the Divine power within us so we can be the change during the rest of the year.

The Eternal Birth must take place in you....The birth of Christ in our souls is for a purpose beyond ourselves: it is because his manifestation in the world must be through us. ~Meister Eckhart

Celebrating the birth of Jesus honors a human who shows us the Way to manifest the Light and Love of God. Another model is St. Nicholas whose feast day we celebrate today. We don't need to wait for something or someone outside of us. It is through us that Light and Love are brought into the darkness of the world.

Let us take this time in Advent to learn how to transform our inner lives so that we will consistently reflect what Jesus taught us about how to live. Let's prepare ourselves for our mission -- to bring God's Light into the world every day for the rest of our lives.

Blessings on your day!