Collect for the Third Sunday in Advent
O Lord Jesus Christ, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise make ready your way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient toward the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world, we may be found a people acceptable in your sight; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
When Jesus returns to planet earth, he will return as King of kings and Lord of lords. The revelation of the glorified Christ will overtake our current image of a babe in a manger or savior on a cross. Until then, we patiently wait and vigilantly hope for that day.
But how do we make the most of our waiting and hoping? The most straightforward answer is by living a life of repentance and preparation.
As we wait for the Lord’s return we ready ourselves through the cleansing practice of repentance. By taking an inventory of our actions and feeling remorse for our wrongs, we enter into the act of repentance. Hopefully, this leads to changed thinking and changed behavior. But about what should we repent? May I suggest an understated vision of God, an erroneous vision of ourselves and a mistaken vision of others. Hence, we pray: “Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.”
Also, as we wait for the Lord’s return, we prepare ourselves for the salvation Christ claimed for us. We prepare for the day when the substance of faith will be met with the evidence of Christ’s appearing. Until then, we trust in the prophets’ and Christ’s message. And what is that message: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” (John 3:16). What unmeasurable love! What amazing grace!
Surely, Advent is a season of grace and love. May we repent of those things that clutter our lives so that we may become vessels in the Potter’s hands, vessels filled with his boundless and unyielding love and grace.
