Normally, the prospect of three days of rain would be a real downer. But this weekend, anyone who has a lawn, a garden, a pasture, or a farm recognizes that this is a Godsend to our parched earth, and to our plants and animals and lakes.
Today is the day to light the pink advent candle.
Today we acknowledge our hope for heaven, and refresh our resolutions to be more faithful to God and to one another. We don't talk very much about Heaven and Hell in the Episcopal Church because we understand that our primary Christian focus in this life is to be faithful and to do good, by virtue of that faith. And if we are faithful and also do good we understand that God will, most likely, invite us into Heaven. At the same time, we understand that any faith we nurture and any good we do should not be done as flatterers, craving God's favor in order to win heaven. Neither is God interested in our being faithful and doing good simply out of the fear of Hell.