The Latter Splendor

Leaning into the invitation of Advent before the season actually begins allows the worshiping community to consider the promise of the kingdom apart from the machinery of Christmas. Whether you call this series an extended Advent or pre-Advent or not even make the connection out loud is up to the worship team. (If you want to know more about the seven-week Advent proposal, click here check out the North American Academy of Liturgy’s Advent Project.)

The invitation of this series is to look to a future that resembles the kingdom that Jesus spoke of. He used parables and images to hint at what living in that kind of relationship would be like. There are aspects of the community of faith that resemble this kingdom or kin-dom living. Telling some of those stories in worship could give a glimpse into this promised future. At its best, the church rallies around those who are hurting, brings them into fellowship, and offers comfort and sustenance for the difficult experiences. Many churches rise to the occasion when there is a death in the family or the community, especially a tragic or sudden death. The care given, the space created, and the ability to weep with those who weep shine forth in these moments. Saying “thank you” to the funeral dinner crew or the visitation teams during worship can be a sign that God is at work among you. This is the house of “latter splendor” that Haggai talks about in our text for the week. Celebrate who you are and who you are becoming at the same time.

There is also space for confession for the times the church doesn’t rise to the occasion. Honest confession for sins of commission and omission can be a cleansing start to a new embrace of the vision. When we draw attention to how the church has been complicit in the brokenness of our world and the marginalization of the stranger and sojourner in our midst, we take the first step toward changing this behavior. This is not church bashing, but an honest assessment of history and practice that enables us to claim the gift of the promise still before us. It is a way of inviting the one we worship to come and walk alongside us as we seek to be the presence of Christ in the world and not just in worship.