Advent Reflection for Tuesday, November 30th

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We must remember as it is written in Scripture: “No one who believes in him will be put to shame. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!” As we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew today, we must remember that we are all called to be disciples of Christ. In being a disciple of Christ, we must walk each day professing that He is Lord and Savior. This is not only done with our tongue, but in the way we live.  We must live our faith each and every day not only for ourselves but for those we come in contact with. Please ask yourself, “Am I living out my faith and giving thanks for the gifts God has bestowed upon me through service to others? Am I constantly striving to bring peace to the world through prayer and action? Do I work for justice on behalf of those less fortunate and marginalized?”

As we prepare to celebrate the coming of our Messiah into the world let us pray that we live for Him in our daily lives through giving of our time, talent and treasure on His behalf.

- Erin Jones is the youth minister at St. Bartholomew’s Church (East Brunswick, NJ).

Advent Reflection for Monday, November 29th

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A few days ago, I was walking through the mall and I saw a guy wearing a plain black T-shirt that said, “Stereotypes are a real time saver.” As someone who can easily laugh at his own cultural foibles, my initial response was to smile. 

No matter how evolved and righteous we may think we have become, who among us at some point in time hasn’t sought to label another? Stereotyping is part of our DNA. While there are positive stereotypes – for example, we teach small children that policemen are good – all too often we engage in the not-so-kind classification of people. For some of us, it’s skin color, cultural heritage or age, while for others it may be social status, the car that they drive, the length or color of their hair, body piercing, tattoos or sexual orientation. Even our business culture pounds this into our subconscious through not-so-subliminal advertising. “Buy this DVD and You Too Can Have Buns of Steel!” As if people with “buns of steel” are better than the rest of us.

Jesus, being both fully human and fully divine, all too well understood the folly of humanity. He immediately acknowledged the faith of the Roman soldier, a person outside the normal circle of His followers. He remarked to those following him (from Israel), “In no one in Israel have I found such faith.” In other words, “It’s not all about you guys … all people of faith are welcome at my table.” That means everybody!

In these early days of Advent, as we prepare ourselves for His coming, I see this as a well-timed opportunity to mindfully shed negative stereotypes. This is a time when, as people of faith, we should embrace our diversity, knowing that God welcomes all the faithful to His table. It is up to each and every one of us to be the Body of Christ, now and throughout the coming year.

-Rocky Balsamo is a member of the Center for FaithJustice’s Board of Trustees

Advent Reflection for Sunday, November 28th

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Therefore, stay awake!

For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. 

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night 

when the thief was coming,

 he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. 

So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. 

 Mt 27:42-44

I don’t like waiting, and I seem to have a lot of company.  We are a society that wants everything now: fast food, instant messaging, express lanes. In short, we hate to wait. Yet, in the words of the Rev. Dr. P.C. Enniss, “Our lives are inevitably shaped by those for whom we wait.”

The most profound experience of waiting I’ve ever had was the 9 months I carried my first child inside my womb. At first the days sped by, but by the third trimester, the progress of days and centimeters slowed to an excruciating pace. I was uncomfortable and a little afraid of labor, but more than anything, I was anxious to become a mother. I longed to hold my child, feed her, bathe her, sing to her. Yet in the months of carrying her inside me, I had already begun to nurture and protect her, choosing healthy foods and avoiding alcohol and caffeine. I had already grown to love her deeply. In the 9 months of waiting for this child to be born, before I ever held her or saw her face, I had already become her mother.

In Advent, as we await the coming of Jesus Christ, we long for the Kingdom of God.  Isaiah tells us that “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” In our world so filled with the suffering of innocent victims of war, disease, poverty, discrimination, and slavery, we long for Christ to come again and restore our world to balance and all people to wholeness. Yet, our lives are inevitably shaped by those for whom we wait. The theologian Paul Tillich wrote, "Although waiting is not having, it is also having. The fact that we wait for something shows that in some way we already possess it." As we await the coming of the Christ and long for His return, we become the Kingdom of God on earth.

- Mary Vanderhoof is a member of the Center for FaithJustice’s Board of Trustees.

Advent 2010 - Daily Reflections

On behalf of the staff and board of the Center for FaithJustice, welcome to our Advent Reflection Guide! We have asked a number of wonderful people to offer a brief reflection on the daily readings. I must admit, I am both impressed and inspired by the reflections to follow over the coming weeks. I think you will be too! My hope is that we, as an extended community, might take a few minutes each day of Advent to pray with the readings and meditate on the reflection. In doing so, together preparing for the Incarnation, we share an experience that binds us as a community of faith.

It is true that the Center for FaithJustice requires the support of a great many people to continue our work. There is, however, a deeper reality, rooted in our mission. More than any programming goals, we seek to build a broad community marked by love and friendship, a “place” where all are welcome, to foster a commitment to a faith that strives for justice and serves those in need. CFJ is comprised of people from diverse walks of life, but we believe that God is calling each and every one of us.

As we journey together this Advent, let us open our arms to those for whom this time of year is marked by loneliness or despair. Likewise, let us open our hearts to those who, in this season of overconsumption, lack even the most basic of needs (much less the means for elaborate gifts). This guide is dedicated to all those who support CFJ through their time, talent and treasure. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do. Be assured you are remembered in our weekly prayer and that our door is always open to you, your family, and to anyone those seeking a community of faith that does justice. Your support is appreciated, your friendship sustains us. You are, for us, a sign of hope, a revelation of God at work in the world. For that, we are eternally grateful.


Peace on your journey,
Sean Patrick Sanford
Executive Director