Greetings my dear sisters and brothers,
There is an excerpt from the NEW YORK TIMES that I received recently that underscores why the Christian focus on ADVENT is so important.
“It seems as if the world is encountering a “perfect storm” of simultaneous crises: The coronavirus pandemic is approaching the end of its third year, the war in Ukraine is threatening to go nuclear, extreme climate events are afflicting North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, inflation is reaching rates unseen in decades and authoritarianism is on the march around the world. But the storm metaphor implies that this simultaneity is an unfortunate and temporary coincidence — that it’s humanity’s bad luck that everything seems to be going haywire all at once.
In reality, the likelihood that the current mess is a coincidence is vanishingly small. We’re almost certainly confronting something far more persistent and dangerous. We can see the crises of the moment, but we’re substantially blind to the hidden processes by which those crises worsen one another — and to the true dangers that may be enveloping us all.
Today’s mess is better understood as a global polycrisis, a term the historian Adam Tooze at Columbia has recently popularized. The term implies that humanity is dealing with a complex knot of seemingly distinct but actually deeply entangled crises. Precisely because these crises are so entangled, they’re causing worldwide damage much greater than the sum of their individual harms.”
The fore-going doesn’t paint a good picture of our human reality. However, the Christian perspective, attitude, and approach to life are grounded in the ADVENT principles of HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE.
In the face of “polycrisis” we anchor our HOPE in God who is determined to create a “new heaven and a new earth” (Isaiah 65: 17)where human beings will again bend the soul to God’s authority, and govern their affairs by God’s standards of equity and justice.
In the the face of “polycrisis” we pursue PEACE working hard to forging and fixing relationship with each other, creating a world where weapons of war are transformed into implements for the broadening of human life ( Isaiah 2: 4.). And we work hard at building bridges of reconciliation and restoration.
In the face of “polycrisis” we are determined to pursue relationship with God that we may experience and express Advent JOY . This JOY is not flippant optimism. It is Biblical realism that God brings new life out of dark circumstances.
In the face of “poly crisis” we will be standard bearers of Heaven’s LOVE: sharing our blessings with others, speaking up for the voiceless, standing with the lonely, sitting with the broken, amd strengthening our bonds of kinship.
ADVENT is the season where we imagine how our world can be different…better; and we partner with God and God’s stakeholders in being signposts of this “new thing” (Isaiah 43: 19) that God seeks to do.
ADVENT is the season when we anxiously prepare for the return of our LORD Jesus, whilst engaging the many persons and situations through whom he makes his appearance.
For more resources to assist in the fight against the spiritual forces behind the polycrisis click the links below.
How to Identify the Enemy – The Basics of Spiritual
Warfare – Derek Prince
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzivz7gcMtE
Casting Down Strong holds – Derek Prince
Spiritual Warfare – Derek Prince
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaWcwLid2bA
Remember, as Christians we operate from a position of victory in our LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Happy and Holy Advent!
Rev.
