Five Minute Friday :: Expectation

• FMF Expectation Linkup

• In Shakespeare's Henry V: "For now sits expectation in the air!"

Luke 3

¹⁵As the people filled with expectation, and all of them questioned in their hearts concerning John the Baptist, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

Expectation, anticipation. From observing a few others and from knowing myself to a limited degree, it seems as if most humans spend most of their lives in a past that is over (to some extent) and in a future that hasn't yet dawned (though God already has gone there to ready it for us). Those enticing five minute fridays! Of course you can write to any prompt at any time, and I've done a couple of them too late to link, but isn't it more fun to join the weekly writing flash-mob?

With Advent well underway and Nativity drawing nigh, it's been yet another crazy week. I had to attend to formal and official projects so I didn't quite write about expectation, but I blogged my weekly Revised Common Lectionary reflection for Advent 2. In doing that, I retrieved and slightly updated a prayer I wrote fifteen years ago; I'll re-blog it here:

Prayer

God of all creation, again this year we anticipate your Holy Presence among us in the Bethlehem manger. We also find you in our neighbor next door, the homeless family in the park, the clerk at the convenience store, frontline medical and municipal workers, scientists studying COVID, and conflicts across the world, may we bring to all of these the joy of the Bethlehem baby. We pray in the name of the Bringer of hope and Author of peace, amen!

© Leah Chang, 2006, 2021
# # #