Shocked by Advent (Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:36-44)

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In all my years of pastoral ministry, I always found the arrival of the first Sunday of Advent disruptive. Even as a strong "J" on the Myers-Briggs, I never felt like I was prepared for its arrival. Advent arrives following the longest "season" in the liturgical calendar, the stretch of ordinary Sundays. And the first Sunday's readings catch us off guard. We are shocked by the outrageousness of Isaiah's prophecy: "They shall beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” And we are not prepared to be judged by Matthew that this is no time for "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage."