Today’s scripture: Psalm 73:16-20 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Keith Phillips):
Preparing for Christmas is not easy for many of us; but when a family includes a person with autism, the season becomes a bit more complex and one’s preparations a bit more intentional. Before Geoffrey visits for the first time after Thanksgiving, all the decorations have to be up and their storage containers out of sight. The Wheel of Fortune ornament has to be at eye level on the center left side of the tree. There must be a 5½” X 5½” X 1½” wrapped gift obvious under the tree: a Jeopardy! tear-off-sheet 2014 boxed calendar, which he will display proudly with unopened Jeopardy! calendars of the past sixteen years. This will be the first gift opened on Christmas, right after we watch Hanna-Barbera’s “The Nativity” from their animated series “The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.” It’s unavailable in DVD, so I have to check my twenty-year-old VHS copy beforehand to make sure that it plays and nothing goes wrong Christmas morning.
For most of us, preparing for Christmas and Advent is intentional. We are celebrating the coming of God into our world in a special way in Jesus Christ. (Advent means “coming.”) Interestingly, for those accustomed to the Common Lectionary readings during worship, the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent every year concerns the Second Coming of Christ. As our Proclamation of Faith declares: “Christ will come again!” Hebrews 9:27, 28 (CEV) states, “We die only once, and then we are judged. So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people. But when he comes again, it will not be to take away sin. He will come to save everyone who is waiting for him.” Our preparation for the Second Advent needs to be as intentional as our preparation for this year’s Christmas.
This seems to be the drift of Psalm 73. (Read the whole psalm when you get a chance.) The author has been looking at those around him, and he’s jealous. “For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73:3, NRSV). Unfortunately, I hear this far too frequently in the office, with the families of my dying patients, among my friends. Too many are looking at those around them and desiring their lives, their stuff, their situations; and it seems especially fierce this time of year.
Fortunately, the psalmist pulls it together, recognizing that the arrogant/wicked will get their comeuppance and declares to God, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you” (Psalm 73:25, NRSV). He realizes this “in the sanctuary of God” (verse 17), when he focuses on God, instead of those around him. What/Who are you looking at, this season?
Like children, even children with autism, we look forward to Christmas, our celebration of the First Advent. May we also look forward to, and intentionally prepare for, the Second Advent.
Thought for the day: If all of life is to be experienced as preparation for leaving it behind, in anticipation of the Second Coming, we would be wise to keep our focus on God.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.