Shirin McArthur
Dear friends,
Happy New Year! No, I’m not a month off—although I could argue that our secular calendar is. Today is the liturgical new year—the beginning of the Advent season, which marks the start of the new Christian year.
During the season of Advent, we live into a paradox. We remember, and anticipate celebrating, the coming of Jesus at Christmas. At the same time, we await the second coming of Christ at an unknown future date. That paradox shows up in today’s readings, where the psalmist remembers and celebrates having arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, while Isaiah looks forward to a time when all nations will arrive together at the house of the Lord and celebrate that gathering in peace.
I first arrived at the house of the Lord in January 2017. Standing at the foot of the “teaching steps,” I marveled at how I could stand in the same place where Jesus taught, two thousand years ago. With the psalmist, I was glad that my feet were standing within Jerusalem’s gates. I was grateful for the chance to raise my voice and give thanks to God in a holy place where hundreds of thousands of people, over the centuries, have also raised their voices.
Fortunately for me, it was a peaceful time in Jerusalem, but that’s not always been the case. Many hope that Christ’s future coming will bring a lasting peace to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the psalmist invites us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as if they knew very well—perhaps first-hand—that Jerusalem has not always prospered.
It’s not easy to live both/and. In Advent, most of us concentrate on the reality we know, rather than an unknown future. It’s more fun to focus on baby Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem, rather than the challenging unknowns of Jerusalem. Yet we are called to pray for peace—especially since a group of us will gather next year for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and stand together within Jerusalem’s gates.
Will you join me in praying for the peace of Jerusalem during this Advent season?
Shirin McArthur
You can read more of my reflections on my blog.