Scriptures: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44; Psalm 122
30 November 2025, 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A
The Rev. Deacon Kathryn Snelling, and Lisa Moore, Vestry member
We were blessed with two reflections yesterday.
The Rev. Kathryn Snelling, Deacon reflected on the day's scriptures. Many of the day's verses had to do with being prepared for the future.
Lisa Moore, one of our Vestry members, read from the Advent booklet and commented on the reading.
Reflection from Living Well Through Advent 2025
Read by Lisa Moore
THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT
Thursday, December 4, 2025
God’s Generosity in Nature
You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between
the hills, … From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
—Psalm 104:10, 13
Nature has been referred to as God’s first sacred text. Before the
sacred texts of the Bible, there was and continues to be the holy
text of God’s creation.
Remembering that the root of the word generosity means “to give birth”
or “to give life to,” we see in nature the ongoing life-giving generosity
of our Creator. One of the signs of how God is present in creation is
the response that almost all people have to spiritual experiences they
describe in nature. Creation pulsates with the generous energy of God.
Like fish who live in the ocean, we live and move and have our being in
the abundance of God’s self-giving love.
As with other acts of generosity—whether from God or others—it is all
too easy to take such generosity for granted. Stopping to pay attention to
the beauty of a butterfly, a bird’s song, a majestic mountain, or the smell
of the air after a recent rainfall are simple everyday spiritual practices
that reawaken us to the presence of the Divine surrounding us.
When we pause and truly pay attention, the ground we are standing on
is always holy ground. Nature’s generosity is constant and unconditional—
the sun shines on the just and the unjust, the rain falls on both
the grateful and the ungrateful.
Making it Personal: When have you felt close to God in nature? What
is something simple you might do or pay more attention to today that
will help you connect with God through nature? Consider spending at
least five minutes outdoors today (or by a window if necessary) simply
observing God’s generosity in creation, noticing what you see, hear,
smell, or feel.