Prepare to Listen.  As you light the 1st purple candle, pray: Restore our fortunes, O Lord.
 
Prayerfully Read Mark 13:24-31
24‘But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  26Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.  27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.  28‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.  29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.  30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.  31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
 
Prayerfully Wonder
“Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.”  This is a sight followers of Jesus long for and speculate over, sometimes rather wildly.  But we often fail to pay attention to the first word: then.  Something happens before Christ’s coming that isn’t what we long for.  Suffering, a darkened sun and moon, falling stars, a shaking of the powers of heaven and then.  Jesus borrowed traditional words from the prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel) to symbolically describe God’s judgment on the world.
 
But, you may protest, this is Advent, a time to prepare for the joyous occasion of Christ’s birth, surely not a time for doom and gloom.  First, Christ’s coming is about judgment on a world that has ignored God’s agenda and demands replacing them with their own.  God’s judgment that will bring healing, restoring hope to those who are deprived and oppressed because of the injustices perpetrated by those in power, be they religious or political.  Second, today, especially today with the devastation caused by a global pandemic, Jesus’ words remind us that bad things will happen, even to his own.  We should expect them and endure them in hope, the hope of the then.  We keep hope alive because we know Christ will come with great power and glory, after we’ve endured.  Then they shall see.
 
Prayerfully Reflect
What caught your attention as you read these verses?  Think about that and let it sink into your heart.
 
Respond to Jesus
Lord, I know it’s easy to get side-tracked and fail to stay alert as I wait for you to come in glory to restore the world in justice and righteousness.  Help me wait patiently and hopefully, discerning what is and what isn’t of and for you.  Amen.
 
Go live obediently in the world waiting in hope for the then.

Prepare to Listen.  In silence and stillness light the first purple candle of Advent and pray: Restore our fortunes, O Lord.
 
Prayerfully Read Psalm 126
1When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’
3The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
4Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
6Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
 
Prayerfully Wonder
The psalmist begins with a past tense claim; restoration had happened (vv1-3).  Yet, half way in he prays for a future restoration (vv4-6).  So, which is it—past or future?  Perhaps both.
 
Restoration refers to homecoming after decades of exile in Babylon, and had already happened.  It was like a dream come true, people were euphoric.  Mouths were filled with laughter, tongues with shouts of joy.  Praise rang through the land and beyond so even the surrounding nations testified to God’s greatness.
 
But then reality set in.  Homecoming had its hardships.  Their land was still in the ruins left by the Babylonians decades earlier.  Rebuilding a new life needed another restoration, not a return to ‘the good old days,’ but to the newness God alone brings.  A newness like the transformation of the desert Negeb after the yearly rains had filled the rivers so that farmers, who’d planted in tears, rejoiced knowing there’d be food.
 
Today we can identify with a homecoming that is still unfinished.  Covid-19 put us in an exile of lockdowns, restrictions and limitations that remain ongoing.  We long for a homecoming, freedom from fear of this virus and the imposed restrictions.  But homecoming, while joyous, comes with new burdens, different hardships.  Like Israel, we will say, “When the LORD restored our fortunes,” even as we continue to pray, “Restore our fortunes, O LORD.”  Advent is a time to practice patience in waiting for full restoration that will be different to what we once knew.
 
Prayerfully Reflect
What word or phrase caught your attention?  Reflect on what the Spirit may be saying to you as you seek to be restored.
 
Respond to Jesus
You are a God who desires that your people experience exuberant joy.  For all those who are experiencing sorrow today, may they be strengthened by your power and love to hope in your promise of a return with joy.  Grant us courage to accept the hardships and transformations you alone can bring.  In the name of Jesus who came that our joy may be complete, Amen.
 
Go live obediently in the world as you wait in patience to be fully restored.