Threshold Bible Study: Advent Light

Advent is a time for new understanding, for putting different pieces of God’s revelation together in order to see the divine plan more clearly. We listen to the words of the ancient prophets, to the wisdom of Jesus, to the stories of his birth and infancy, and we make connections. Then we connect those truths to our own lives and our world and see how God is acting anew, how God continues to reveal the coming of Jesus today. Our best model for this Advent search for understanding is Mary of Nazareth. By making connections between the ancient and the new, between her people Israel and her own life, Mary grew in understanding of God’s plan and responded to God’s will with her acceptance: “Let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

Stephen J. Binz