Day 20, Awake! Awake! – Pastor Dave
“Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14, NRSV.)
Most people dread Monday mornings and the beginning of a new work week. The weekends are never long enough, and it can feel like an eternity for Saturday and Sunday to roll around again. I was never a fan of Mondays until two years ago when we began a new tradition on the St. Mark campus. I greet the “walk-in” preschool families. In fair and foul weather, I welcome young and old alike with a smile, a good morning, and the open door of new possibilities. It’s a small thing, to be sure, but it means a lot.
Recently, I’ve found myself humming the Advent tune, “Awake! Awake and Greet the New Morn” while waiting for the young to skip into the building. It’s a hymn about welcoming the Christ child, but I believe it’s also a reminder to start every day with a spirit of anticipation, hope, and expectation. Our creative God is doing something new every day, and we need to rub the sleep out of our eyes and look with wonder at all the possibilities before us.
“Awake! Awake, and greet the new morn, for angels herald its dawning. Sing out your joy, for soon he is born, behold! the Child of our longing. Come as a baby weak and poor, to bring all hearts together; he opens wide the heavenly door and lives inside us forever.” What doors is Christ opening for you today? What new possibilities await you on the other side of sleep?
“LORD, we thank you for the gift of this new day and for opening the door of eternal life. Help us to greet this morning and all our neighbors with a spirit of welcome. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
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