Unraveling the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

First Monday of Advent - December 1, 2025

Isaiah 4: 2-6; Matthew 8: 5-11

From the east and the west, there will be people who will inherit the Reign - it is my responsibility not to miss! 

The responsibility of unraveling the Reign in my context rests on me! Those who take this responsibility seriously will be a meagre portion - the remnance of Israel, the left over in Zion, the remaining in Jerusalem. Yes, not necessarily the doctors and the experts, but the children and little ones, as Jesus exclaimed. There are no privileged classes or those with prerogatives - the terms are clear, that each one unravel the Reign as it is presented to him or her. 

Advent becomes a time for me to think and reflect - to see and behold, to discover and rediscover the working of the Lord in and around me. If I miss the opportunity, the onus is entirely on me. If I manage to cease the moment and unravel the mysteries of the Reign present here and now, I shall become a member of the Reign, a guest at the banquet, a son or daughter in the house of the Father.

The presence of the Lord and the actions of the Lord is everywhere - like the cloud by day, the light by night, and the shade by the sun - always so evident and clear, for those who are ready to perceive and behold. I can be busy with my plans and projects, pride and prejudice, missing everything out... failing to unravel the obvious! The caution and the call is clear: do not miss unraveling the Reign. 

Three dispositions that are enlisted in the Word today that can lead us to unravel the Reign: being observant, taking the time to entreat the Lord passing by, and acknowledging humbly the true majesty of the Lord. These are attitudes that are growing to be rare in the society today, so increasingly secularised. The question therefore to me: how disposed am I to unravel the Reign today and more importantly, am I ready to be the few, the remnance, the left over, those from the far east and the wild west?