Advent

ADVENT

Advent is the Coming

a waiting in expectation

of a coming

that senses that a surprise is unfolding

that good news is on my doorstep

it is the preparation of the harbour

for the arrival

the opening up of the heart

for the overwhelming

feeling of love,

of love herding in the heart

the coming idea

that will issue in a new consciousness

and a new holistic understanding of who we are

a coming realization that the world

is once again pregnant with new meaning

advent calls forth

an ancient realization

that this is my kairos

to surrender the hard defences of my heart

the tough skin of my attitude

to new ways that will make us human

I ask what is there to receive

in this hope-forlorn world?

There are broken symbols to receive

of who you were last year

lifeless images of leaders who lost direction

of loves that died

of hatred that led to horror

of parcels that shattered lives

Old symbols are being torn down

Symbols of hope are rising up

from hidden springs of God’s grace

There are old areas of my life

that God is coming into

filling them with new energies and directions

my marriage, my friendships, my work

the church community which I know so well

my attitude to women

my feelings about sexuality

the way I treat my children,

the hardness with which I approach

the questions of race

Suddenly my life is examining me

And I am learning all over again

I have become a child in an adult world

filled with the excitement of a new way of

knowing.

Something is coming to birth in me.

Bob Commin