Advent Meditations- Thursday, December 21

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Psalms 50, [59, 60] or 33; Zech. 4:1-14; Matt. 25:1-13; Rev 4: 9-5:5

Recently my wife, toddling daughter, and I traveled to Big Bend national Park. The boundless landscape filled with towering mountains have a way of making you feel small. A humbling smallness that reminds, “You are a part of something much bigger.” As we entered the park, I was armed with a meticulously packed schedule in order to see as many of the sights as possible; no room for deviation or delay.
On the first trail, our daughter decided she would NOT be carried, demanding to hold my hand and hike the trail herself. Our movement was slow, with many pauses to gaze in wonderment at dandelions, touch the soil, and feel the texture of rocks. If it weren’t for these pauses forcing me to slow down and soak in the oil of the present, I doubt I would have had enough to enter into the banquet of the magnificent view at the end of the trail. I had certainly not brought enough for the journey.
In this holy season of anticipation, remembering the Messiah’s first coming, we often find ourselves hurriedly speeding to the next task in preparation. May we also try and embrace this holy season of waiting, slowing down to fill our flasks with the oil of the present moment, preparing ourselves for the banquet to come.
God of all creation, of Word made flesh, help us to slow amidst our anticipation and prepare to greet you in due time.
Thomas Forbes Sirmon Jr.
M.Div, Class of 2018
SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST
Diocese of Central Gulf Coast
Listen to the Forbes read his meditation and prayer:
http://ssw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Forbes-Sirmon.m4a

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Forbes Sirmon is a Senior at the Seminary of the Southwest.

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