The Collect for the Second Week of Advent

Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet Your Son, but may our learning of heavenly wisdom gain us admittance to His company. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Almighty and merciful God – Isn't it wonderful to be able to reflect on how God is both almighty and merciful? He has the power to do whatever He wills, yet He wills to reach out to us in love, to forgive our sins, and to send His Son to die on the cross for our salvation.

may no earthly undertaking hinder – It's so easy to get caught up in the things of this world and forget God. There are so many temptations, so many human longings, so many distractions that pull our attention away from Him. We need God's grace that earthly things may not get in our way, may not hinder us in our journey toward eternal life, may not lead us away from God and into the mire of sin. This isn't to say that what we do here on earth is all bad. Of course it isn't! Yet we must keep the things of this world firmly in their place, that is, secondary to God and our love and service to Him.

set out in haste to meet Your Son – Are we eagerly running toward Jesus? Or are we slogging along, shuffling our feet and stopping periodically (or all the time) to gaze at some distraction? Jesus, may we hurry to meet You, keeping our eyes fixed on You at all times.

may our learning of heavenly wisdom – What is this heavenly wisdom? It is getting to know God and the plan of salvation His love sets before us. It is immersing ourselves in the sacraments. It is growing in familiarity and appreciation for God's Word in the Scriptures. It is praying to grow closer and closer to God and to see the world more and more through His perspective (as much as we can in our limited human nature). It is keeping our eyes, our minds, and our hearts on God.

gain us admittance to His company – Just reflect on this for a moment. Here is the goal of our entire existence. We want to spend eternity in the company of Jesus, face to face with Him, immersed in His love.