RECTOR’S REFLECTION: Love

It is Advent.

The time of preparing, waiting, longing, singing, praying, crying out for the coming of Jesus, the coming of God’s kingdom.

It is a time for lighting candles in the darkness.

This week, we light the fourth candle, the candle of love, in our Advent wreath.

There can be so much happening at this time of year—an overwhelming storm of tradition, pressure, obligation, and activity swirling around us. It can sometimes feel like we are drowning or being pulled in a million different directions.

And so, take a moment.

Breathe.

Remember.

Ultimately, it is all about love. Choose love—let that be your guide. Choose the most loving thing: the most loving thing for God, the most loving thing for your family, the most loving thing for your neighbour, and the most loving thing for yourself. That is how to best prepare for Christ, Love Incarnate, who has come, is coming, and will come again. 

Let the words of Michael Curry, the former Primate of the Episcopal Church, ring like a bell in our ears all the rest of this season: “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”

So, my friends, I invite you to choose love with me this season, choose it again and again and again, even though it might feel small and insignificant at times. When we all light our candles together, we will glow. 

May God fan the flame of love in our hearts, in our church and in our world, and may our prayer be:

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

CG+