I just bought God is in the Manger, a collection of reflections by Dietrich Bonhoeffer about Advent and Christmas taken from his writings while he was imprisoned by the Nazis from 1943-1945 and prior to his execution on April 8, 1945.
What is fascinating is how Bonhoeffer compared the situation of being imprisoned and the enforced waiting of one in prison to Advent.
"[Jesus] comes in the form of a beggar, of the dissolute human child in ragged clothes, asking for help. He confronts you in every person that you meet. As long as there are people, Christ will walk the Earth as your neighbor, as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you, makes demands on you. This is the great seriousness and great blessedness of the Advent message."
This builds so beautifully upon what I have been thinking about since Christ the King Sunday.
We are told during Advent to be awake, be watchful. But, as Pastor Bonhoeffer notes, we are also called to action. It is not enough to note that there are those who are poor, who are suffering, who thirst for knowledge. We are called to act upon this. In my life, I have felt that part of my particular ministry is teaching. We teach by our words, and by our example, and through our willingness not just to talk but to listen. I am constantly hoping to do better in my work with my students. We have to see the face of Christ in all those who need our help. Would we deny Jesus anything if we knew it was he who asked?
This book is meant to be read as a series of daily devotions, so I will be thinking more about what Pastor Bonhoeffer has to say during the season.
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