Gravity

This year for Advent we will be walking through the Psalms of Ascent. The Psalms of Ascent were prayers the people of Israel would say and sing, together, as they marched upwards towards the temple in Jerusalem, seeking God and asking him to meet them; to be present. Like the Psalms of Ascent, Advent is about both our need and our preparation for God’s presence. But while the Psalms of Ascent were prayed in ascent, in the people’s slow climb upwards towards the temple and the presence of God, Advent, on the other hand, turns our attempts at ascent upside down. We don’t climb to him, he descends to us. Like gravity, God’s presence is experienced in the descent, in his downward movement towards us and in our reception of his gift: himself.