Advent Reflection: More sure than Minnesota snow
by Rev. Scott Cartwright, Benedictine director, spiritual care
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,
and they will call him Emmanuel”.
Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
Looking out the window this morning, I realized the wait is over – SNOW has arrived! Beautiful! And with the beauty, colder temperatures and more careful driving! In Minnesota, love it or not, the presence of snow is eventually a reality.
For Christians, each year the church season of Advent arrives. It’s a sure thing, even more inevitable than Minnesota snow! A time to remember Jesus’ Advent – his birth and life as Emmanuel (which means God with us), and to look forward with hope and anticipation to Jesus’ future Advent when he will come again to fully transform this troubled world into one of peace, joy, and love.
This year, Advent is celebrated from Sunday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 24, with the weekly themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. Throughout Benedictine, we embrace Jesus’ way of love, by embracing these themes within our work in Communities and Support Centers, as well as in our daily lives.
We embrace hopeful waiting, in our patience with each other, ourselves, and God. So often, whatever challenge we’re faced with, we’d like to get over it immediately, or change it now! We’re impatient and reality hits us with, Wait. Be patient. This may take time. We’re human, no different from anyone else – we have difficulty waiting. As Benedictines, we have the hope that God is present and working, helping us endure the wait, strengthening us, and assuring us that in time, positive change will take place.
We embrace courageous peace-making, in the many work-place conflicts, big or small. We bravely lean into resolving conflicts, instead of fearfully ignoring or adding to the strife, because we respect and see each person as created in the image of God – gifted with worth and dignity – and we value harmony and good will.
We embrace resilient joy by focusing on the reason for the season, on the joy and resilience of our founders, the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery-Duluth, and on the reasons we work at Benedictine – we’ve said yes to a call and are serving people we love.
We embrace self-giving love because that is Jesus’ way of love. We affirm to ourselves, in the spirit of Fr. Henri Nouwen’s words, “…who we are, and what we have, are gifts [of love] to be received and shared.”
Have hope! It’s a sure thing, like the snow I see outside today – in love, Jesus has come. In this Advent season, may we all embrace Jesus’ way of love through the embrace of these beautiful weekly themes, knowing that, even more sure than a Minnesota snow, God is present and at work in our lives and in our world. And, someday, Jesus will come again to fully transform this world into one of peace, joy, and love.