The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
Canon for Ministry Formation and Transitions
My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law;
in your paths my feet shall not stumble.
Psalm 17:5
I head out for a walk choosing a path I have not been on for some time. It has been months since I have been this way. I still remember when my family first discovered this trail, not far from our house in the city. We were riding bikes at the time, our daughters in grade school. I had seen the entrance to the path while driving and suggested we check it out. What a discovery, as we rode away from a busy intersection and into the woods. Each time we rounded a curve, we delighted in the unforeseen vista that opened before us.
Now the path is familiar, as I know what to expect around each curve. But it is not the same. The creek that runs beside it has shifted it course, a bridge has been repaired, and the way widened and made smooth. The path has been cared for in my absence. And I bring a different self.
The Advent way too is both familiar and new. The prayers and scriptures comfort me with their resonance of years past, but at the same time I hear anew the urgent call to make ready myself and the way. Advent requires our vigilance. We are called to be awake to each moment, to anticipate Christ while at the same time remembering we do not know the hour. To keep our feet on the path that leads to righteousness. To repent of our sinful choices which draw us to walk the way of deceit and fear. To remember that we are expecting nothing less than the breaking in of a new creation, nothing less than Love itself.