Sunday, November 30 , 2025 – First Sunday of Advent
A number of years ago, I used a certain Advent reflection booklet with daily reflections appropriate for that day of the season. The booklet also featured some beautiful photographs of nature and other scenes to enhance the day’s reflection. I do remember the photos for the first Sunday of Advent that year. They were photos of sunrises. They were stunning shots of the sun rising in the morning with an orange background behind it. I loved that image as I began my Advent journey that year.
The image of the sunrise can be a good image for us as we begin Advent today and our new liturgical year of grace. As we closed the previous liturgical year over the past few weeks, we heard of apocalyptic events which were unsettling. Stories and images of doom and ruin. Today we begin to hear the stories and promises of new beginnings – fitting well with the image of the sunrise.
Over the course of the last liturgical year, both personally and socially, you may have had those experiences that made you wonder if the apocalypse was upon you. Those experiences that you may have wondered if a better tomorrow was in store for you. Socially, we have had many of them since last December. Now we begin anew with a renewed sense of hope for a better tomorrow. As we proceed through this Advent, we wait for the coming of Christ to touch our hearts and spirits, calling us to new hope and promise. This image of the sunrise is a sign that Christ is on his way, Christmas will offer the image of the bright noonday sun shining its bright and powerful rays on us.
Perhaps during these coming Advent days when the sun rises a bit later in the morning, consider taking a few moments at sunrise to watch the sun rise from your home or your favorite location and consider the hope and promise this image offers you. Allow it to be the focus of your prayer. Consider what you may wish to become during this new year and what you wish for your family, friends, and society as a whole. See what this experience yields for you. Hopefully, a positive one of new beginnings for the months to come.
“But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Malachi 4:2