Our Daily Visitation

In his book, Living the Christian Year, Bobby Gross identifies the three foci of Advent as, Christ’s coming in history as a babe born of Mary, his return in victory at the end of time, and “his intermediate entrance into our own lives.” This third focus is what we will name as God’s “daily visitation” in the collect for the fourth Sunday of Advent. 

Psalm 19 proclaims that “day to day” creation makes known the knowledge of God. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus gives his followers great comfort as he declares,“I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” As God's people we have the assurance of His daily presence with and for us through the Holy Spirit. This is part of our focus this season. 

One of the gifts of Advent in the Christian tradition is the way it invites us into specific practices that open our eyes and hearts to the daily presence of Christ with us. Practices like solitude and silence, fixed hours of prayer and fasting, give us space away from distractions and busyness and allow us to pay attention to the ways that Jesus is at work amidst the minutiae of our daily lives. These practices can equip us with the space we need to listen for Jesus' voice. The waiting of Advent invites us to pay attention to the daily visitation of Christ by His Holy Spirit. 

A small way we have an opportunity to do this is through our Parish Quiet Day this coming Saturday. This a  very simple opportunity to pause and be still and silent in the midst of these often very frenetic weeks. Feel free to come for all or any part of 9am to 12pm for an intentional time of prayer and stillness. There will be a few corporate practices through the morning, but most of the time is devoted to being alone with the Lord. See below for more details. Even if you can’t join us for this time of corporate practice in the midst of this season's busyness I hope you can pause and pay attention to Christ’s consistent, gracious, and compassionate presence with you. 

In Christ, 

Peter+