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Advent Meditation: Monday, December 9, 2019


Psalm 9, 15, 25  •  Amos 7:1-9  •  Matthew 22:23-33

Is Advent too soon to ponder the Resurrection? In this reading, Matthew relays how the Sadducees laid out a convoluted scenario to refute the idea of resurrection, but Jesus points out the error in their logic quite simply:
“As to the fact that the dead are raised, have you not read what God said to you? ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob?’ He is the God of the living, not of the dead.” (Mt. 22:31-32).
I too pondered eternity one summer day when I was 12. Lying back on my lawn, I stared deeply into the sky trying to peer out beyond the blue canopy, but its finiteness soon became a metaphor for this life.  Was this all there was? At death, do we cease to exist and lie in perpetual darkness?
No, Advent is the preparation for the coming. Liturgically, we prepare for the light of Christmas. That light is the very same that broke the shackles of death and resurrected Easter morning. The Way to the Life is found in the Truth: that Jesus was victorious over death. As Easter People, we prepare not for death but for our coming into Life. I AM the God of the living, and we the baptized in Christ Jesus have already died and are alive in Him.
Paul expounds, “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Rom. 6:8).

May this Advent remind us that the Spirit prepares us in the advent of our lives and leads us into life everlasting. Amen.

Duane Carter
Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian
Seminary of the Southwest
Listen to Duane read his meditation and prayer:


Duane Carter  is the Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian. He manages serial subscriptions and access to digital materials available to the Seminary of the Southwest. He also provides library instruction and research assistance.
Duane is also a composer, musician, and author. He earned a B.A. in Music Performance from California State University, Los Angeles, a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Music, Theatre, & English) from California State University, San Bernardino, focusing on writing for musical theatre, and a M.S. in Information Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. He has recorded two CDs, Boundless and Never Say Never, and has written a fiction eBook, No Promises.


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