By Demi Prentiss, reprinted from Living God’s Mission.
I’ve been thinking a lot about vocation during these weeks of Advent, and the season has shifted my sense of how I’m seeking to live into the call God has placed on my life. What is my Advent vocation? And how does that shape my life as a “child of God, beloved and called” during the other seasons?
Some of the Advent vocations from our lectionary’s Year B Advent Gospel readings that have sparked my imagination:
- To practice engaged waiting, like the faithful doorkeeper – “Keep awake!” (Mark 13:37) – Advent 1. How will I practice the role of doorkeeper? On my watch, who will find welcome – or a locked door – as they seek to encounter Jesus?
- To remember my baptism in the Holy Spirit. (Mark 1:8) – Advent 2. Having been “marked as Christ’s own forever” (BCP p. 308), how has that mark shaped me? And would the world recognize that I bear that mark? What evidence would they notice?
- To shout in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!” (John 1:23, NLT) – Advent 3. Am I – or can I become – a “way-clearer”? An “edge-walker”? Am I brave enough to shout? Would Jesus choose to walk the trail I’m blazing?
- To call on love to cast out fear…. For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:30, 37) – Advent 4. Grateful for the angel’s assurance that nothing is impossible, I have learned that if I can concentrate on the “loving” part, God works on the “casting out fear” part. When I focus on seeing where God is in action in those around me, fear loses its hold on my spirit.
A recent Advent reflection from the brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE) named for me the Advent vocation I find the most challenging – To be Christ’s light in a dark world. To shine Christ’s light, we can be a blessing. We can draw on the faces of compassion that Jesus modeled for us:
- When we see people marginalized and put down, we can be fierce in love and in our calls for justice – like the blazing sun.
- When we encounter pain and loss, we can be tender by offering warmth and hope and healing – like a candle in the night.
- When we face stuckness, we can be playful as we frolic through shadow and light, drawing those around us into joy – like the slivers of an eclipsed sun dancing in the leaves. (With thanks to Rob Voyle, “Compassion and the Crazy Wisdom of Jesus.”)
The Advent 1 collect urges us, with grace and courage, to “cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (BCP, p. 211). Where will we be bold enough to offer a word or a sign that kindles a spark of hope? How will we share the light of Christ that is within us, acknowledging that the Holy Spirit’s power will magnify our small light?
My English born-and-raised friend from long ago shared a favorite song from her 1930’s Depression-era childhood that I like to remember when I’m feeling challenged to be Christ’s light:
“Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light, Like a little candle burning in the night!
In this world of darkness, so let us shine – You in your small corner, and I in mine!” Dear Lord, lead me to be the Light for someone who is seeking you.
The Green Room 