Week of 1 Advent, Saturday

Every Saturday the collect appointed in Morning Prayer gives thanks for God's creative act and for the weekly day of rest for God's creatures.

We also pray for two things: "that we, putting away all earthly anxieties," may be prepared for Sunday worship, and "that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven" (BCP 99).

The Saturday collect perfectly mirrors today's readings. In the Gospel, Jesus warns his disciples not to let anxiety about the end times lead them astray. This is a reasonable Jesus saying, "things will happen, but don't be afraid."

Paul, writing to his church in Thessalonika, gives the same reassurance, but speaks particularly to their worries about those who have died before that last day. "I do not want you to be uninformed," he writes, "so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."

Neither Jesus nor Paul sugarcoats reality -- things will be tough -- but they insist that ours is a hopeful stance even in the face of death. There will be wars, we will face betrayal, we will lose the ones we love, but in the larger plan of God's creation we can rest in hope.

Week by week, we practice that hopeful resting. Saturday by Saturday, we renew our praise and rehearse our confidence in the One who made us and makes us whole.