WHEN, IN JOYFUL ANTICIPATION OF THE COMING BIRTH, Mary proclaims the mighty acts of God, among them is God’s filling the hungry with good food. For her, the feeding of hungry people was one of the definitive signs of God’s work in the world, just as it would be one of the major themes of her Son’s ministry.
As we await the celebration of Jesus’ coming, we too are invited to seek signs of God’s redemptive presence in our world and to allow Jesus’ repeated command to “give them something to eat” to inform our seeking. The good news is both that God is still filling the hungry with good things and that Jesus still multiplies our limited resources as we distribute God’s provisions to those waiting for their share.
In the past year, we have seen growing hunger due to skyrocketing food prices, natural disasters, faulty policies, incompetent governments, and plain old human greed. Our Advent seeking will require us to look beyond our world’s failure to adequately deliver the needed help and to see God’s abundant provision for the needs of all.
Our Advent hope is not that God will break into our hurting world – that’s already happened – but that this year we will be prepared to welcome and truly follow the One whom God sends. So let our Advent preparation include not only seeking and hoping but generously practicing our role as distributors of God’s abundance.
Gary Cook
Director, Church Relations
Editor's Note: Excerpted from Whose Birthday is it, Anyway?, Alternatives for Simple Living, 2008
A Prayer for Advent
Lord, we thank you for the birth of your Son.
Help us to prepare again for His coming,
to prepare inwardly, in our hearts,
and outwardly, in our world.
We do not only commemorate the birth
of Jesus, but celebrate His presence
and His continued rebirth in our hearts.
We not only celebrate the meaning of
His life for our world, but rejoice
at His continued presence and
involvement in it.
We thank you for that moment over 2000
years ago and for this moment and
those to come,
When the miracle happens again.
And the Unseen, Unheard but not
Unknown occurs, and He is here
and with us yet again.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Downloads
Other Advent Resources:
Seeds of Hope Publishers
Seeds of Hope produces Advent worship packets with a biblical emphasis on the healing of hunger and poverty. These packets contain over twenty pages of sermons, poetry, art, litanies, youth and children’s activities and other resources for ministers who are seeking creative ways to integrate concern for “the least of these” into church worship and education during Advent.
The following resources are available for purchase:
Whose Birthday is it, Anyway?
Alternatives for Simple Living produces Whose Birthday is it, Anyway?, an annual resource meant to encourage Christians to celebrate a Christ-centered Advent and Christmas season. This year, Bread for the World’s Director of Church Relations, Gary Cook, wrote the introductory sponsor letter. The resource includes reflections, activities, how-to’s and other ideas, and it is designed to be used by congregations, families or individuals.
The following resources are available for purchase:
