The Advent season is now in full swing and as we prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ we must also manage to hold back a cacophony of competing tasks and the subsequent thoughts these tasks engender: have I completed my Christmas shopping list; do I have enough cards for the season and the right mix of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays;” I wonder if those Christmas lights will work from last year; and on and on and on. These thoughts not only creep into the forefront of our minds but can take hold of our imaginations…causing us to wonder of the intentions that lurk behind the actions of others. Life in the church is no different, and add to the mix the unfortunate timing of creating budgets for the coming year and counting financial commitments made by church members. We are tempted to wonder why others delay their support…are they looking for something other than we can provide, do they require more information before making their thoughts known, or are they simply too busy with other matters that seem more pressing. The “crush of the holidays” can take hold of us and bring out the dark clouds of our imaginations. But wait: close your eyes, count to three (forward or backward, they both will do) and say the following – “I will believe the best intentions from others,” and I think you will find this is nearly almost always true. The Apostle Paul gave similar advice to the Christian community in Corinth nearly two thousand years ago and they didn’t have to worry about mall traffic or Black Friday shopping sales.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 10:23 – 11:1) are words we need to hear during this Advent season; a season that is best spent slowing down in thoughtful preparation and prayer for the coming of Jesus, but is often spent going fast and furious from one commitment to the other. Paul advises us to consider that “not all things are beneficial…not all things build up” but that as we continue to work and live with others we should “not seek our own advantage, but that of the other.” (1Cor 10:23-24) Paul’s lesson to us is rather simply stated but perhaps challenging to implement: we live in community, in a diversity of thought, opinion and action; but the diversity of others should best be interpreted as a variety of actions reaching for the best we have to offer. The ability to interpret our diversity in this way requires an expansive understanding of good intentions, and now we have come back to Advent. The season of Advent prepares us for something radically new, something radically powerful, something so creative and imaginative only God could have done it – and that is the Incarnation of the Word of God, so abundant with love that nothing is beyond reach or beyond redemption. If God can do this for us, maybe we can spend the rest of our Advent and the days following believing in the best intentions from others.