The Weekly Perspective
by Joe Thacker, Pastor
Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set they people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
“This prayer directs us both toward the celebration of Christmas, now but a few days off, and toward the end of time, whose distance from us we cannot know; in all of that we pray for the present age, the thin moving edge that connects past to future. For always both the future and past emphases of Advent direct us toward our faith and mission in this world. Eschatology that has no implications for us now is pernicious escapism. History that has no implications for us now is irrelevant romanticism. Neither by escaping current responsibility, nor by retreating into a rosy past that never was, can we serve the God who has come and will come, yet is ever fully woven in the fabric of the present.” – Laurence Hully Stookey, Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church