![\"\"](\"http:\/\/old.maryology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/brooklyn-bridge-1594266_1920.jpg\" "\\"brooklyn-bridge-1594266_1920\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nSince that trip across the bridge I\u2019ve found out that Love Locks are a \u201cthing.\u201d But I didn\u2019t know it at the time, they took me by surprise. The idea is that you attach the lock to the bridge, then throw the key into the river as a sign of your undying love for your partner. It seems like a really sweet way to proclaim your love for someone that is both unique (each lock was different) and communal (they were all locks on a bridge.)<\/p>\n
The idea of those Love Locks stuck with me after I reached the other side of the bridge and for the rest of the day. Actually, more than a day. I\u2019ve thought about them all week and especially as I was mulling over the lessons for the first Sunday of Advent.<\/p>\n
I think Advent is a bit like that trip across the bridge. The journey between Christmas (the first coming) and the time when we will stand before the Son of Man (the second coming) is one we make with all of humanity. It is a spiritual journey.<\/p>\n
And as much as we are slogging our way toward our destination, there are a lot of distractions on the path. You can worry about how the cables are holding it all up or be tempted by the tiny NY taxi toys. You can worry about how close you are to the beginning or the end. You can forget where you started and where you are going. You can get distracted by how many people are there and which ones are making your journey more difficult.<\/p>\n
The distractions on the Brooklyn Bridge are a lot like the ones we face every day, including the days of Advent.<\/p>\n
Jesus tells his disciples \u2013 and tells us –\u00a0\u201cBe on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life\u2026\u201d (Luke 21: 34)<\/p>\n
I read a wonderful advent reflection that compares the distractions of modern life to the dissipation and drunkenness and worries Jesus warns us about. In his reflection, Randall Curtis writes,<\/p>\n
In a world that is filled more and more every day with tempting distractions, like cell phones, tech gifts, and pop up advertisements everywhere, it is easy to fall into the trap of trying to consume the newest trend\u2026These distractions are the new \u201cdrunkenness and worries of this life,\u201d which means that as we prepare for Christmas and God breaking into the world, we will have to make sure we look up from our phones to see it.\u201d*<\/p>\n
Yet, sometimes among those distractions we find reminders of why we are on that path, where the journey started and where it is headed. We see things like Love Locks \u2013 evidence that among the confusion of life there is love. Among the crowds that are blocking your way are people made in God\u2019s image on the journey with you.<\/p>\n
Our Advent journey will be cluttered with all kinds of distractions. Shopping lists and deadlines, family feuds and travel arrangements. Work parties, neighborhood parties, holiday dinners and special menus. Being left off invitation lists, missing those who\u2019ve died this year.<\/p>\n
Among all that craziness, raise your heads. Among those distractions are signs of love and reminders of our journey toward God. And God\u2019s journey to us.<\/p>\n
Look for the Love Locks on this path. Look for the reminders that we are on this journey because God loves us and sent his Son to us.<\/p>\n
Look for the signs that we share God\u2019s love with each other \u2013 those we know well and make public commitments to\u2026and those we hardly know, but share the journey with.<\/p>\n
On the first Sunday of Advent, along with the head-raising warning that the kingdom of God is at hand, we have this prayer from Paul\u2019s letter to the Thessalonians. It\u2019s a good reminder and summary of the meaning of our Advent journey:<\/p>\n
Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you.\u00a0And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.\u00a0And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (Thessalonians 3:10-13)<\/p>\n
*from\u00a0Living Well Through Advent 2018: practicing generosity with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind<\/em>, Scott Stoner<\/p>\n Here are links to the Bible readings referenced in this blog: No matter how long I spent at seminary or looking at calendars and lectionaries Advent always takes me by surprise. Not the kind of surprise where I didn\u2019t expect it\u2026I mean, the holiday decorations have been up since 12 minutes … Continue reading
\nhttp:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?passage=Luke+21:25-36&vnum=yes&version=nrsv
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