“Are we there yet?“ We hear the question repeated over and over from the back seat of our cars on a journey to anywhere that takes more than an hour. Or perhaps we ask it ourselves. So much can be implied in the question: boredom or excitement, anticipation or exasperation, even curiosity. “Are we there yet?” The same question, and its companion, “Why aren’t we there yet?”, has been ringing down through the years and centuries of our struggle to be faithful followers of Jesus, or perhaps just our struggle as human beings to deal with all the difficulties and possibilities of life.
This Advent season we ask the question again. Together we are on a journey, which means at least three things are asked of us. To remember where we have been, to have an understanding of where we are going, and to be attentive to where we are now.
Each of the four Sundays in this season we will be attentive to our journey, focusing on Peace, Hope, Joy and Love. For each of those ideals, we will explore the distant past understanding through the voice of the prophets, the teachings and example of Jesus in the Gospels, and how both of those speak to our present reality.
As we move toward a celebration of Christmas, of God coming among us in Jesus, together we will ask of ourselves “Where are we going? Are we there yet?” Are we living today in the way Jesus calls us to live? What hopes and dreams do we have that match God’s Hope for the world? In what ways do we find Joy, and in what ways do we create it for others? How do we receive the Love that God gives to us, and how do we share it?
Are we there yet? Not yet, but we are on the journey together with God, and that is enough.
Journeying with you,
Chris
