The Journey of Faith
PROPER 28 – 2018 – Year B – 2nd Sunday before Advent
Today, at our 11 o’clock service we are welcoming a young child into the fellowship of the Church in Baptism. This coming week, I will be meeting with young people who are considering taking the next step at Confirmation. If Baptism is about beginning, then Confirmation is about continuing and taking responsibility for oneself.
Parents and godparents will be asked to affirm the Christian faith in the form of the Apostles Creed, which we recite each Sunday, declaring ‘I believe in God’. In Confirmation, we delve into what it means to believe in God and how we can know and relate to Him.
As we approach the end of the season of Trinity and draw closer to Advent, our lessons take on a theme of Advent. Our Gospel reading begins with the disciples in Jerusalem reacting to the Temple and shifts to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus speaks of its coming destruction and presents a clear picture of God’s presence.
The Mount of Olives is a significant place in both the Old and New Testaments, where God is revealed in a decisive, dramatic way. The God who appears there is one of humility and sacrifice, exemplified by Jesus’s actions and teachings.
In our Confirmation Group, we explore how God might make Himself known today. We discuss seeing God in nature, music, the teachings of Jesus, and in other people. This leads to the realization that we, too, can reflect God’s presence to others.
I am reminded of Teresa of Avila’s prayer, which beautifully expresses the idea that we are Christ’s body on Earth, called to be His hands, feet, and eyes, showing compassion and doing good in the world.
Jesus tells his disciples to look for signs of His presence around them. Similarly, we are called to be signs of Christ in our daily lives, in our communities, and in our interactions with others. The child we baptize today, and all of us, should be able to see God in each other. I recall my own experiences of God’s presence in the welcoming actions of church members during my youth.
We are all called to be living signs of Christ’s presence, embodying the Kingdom of God in the world.