Dear Friends in Christ,

Advent brings with it many wonderful characters and stories and gifts. Here are three words I commend to you as we enter into this joyful and hopeful season and look ahead to the new year.

Listen:

The angel Gabriel announces to Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, that he and wife Elizabeth will bear a son, but Zechariah questions how this can be, given their ages. Gabriel responds, "'But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.'" I would not wish this on anyone, and yet I think that wondering about Zechariah's experience can be helpful. What if we listened more deeply, particularly to those with whom we often disagree? We might have to break silence to ask questions that help the conversation deepen. If you are familiar with the Morning Prayer Canticle, you know that after his many months of silence, Zechariah sings this amazing blessing (Luke 1:67-79). Will all that listening make us so poetic? I don't know, but it will surely bring about deep spiritual wisdom.

Welcome:

The story of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus landing in a barn with a manger because there was no room for them in the inn, is surely a reminder that God shows up in the hidden and unexpected places of life. It is also a reminder for us to welcome the strangers and the outcasts. Moving over to Matthew’s narrative and the holy family’s flight to Egypt, we are reminded that Jesus himself was a refugee fleeing danger. From Global Refuge, formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, “For the over 120 million people currently displaced worldwide, this sacred story has similarities to their lived experiences. After all, Jesus was a refugee, God with us as the most vulnerable among us, an infant without a safe place to call home. We invite you to download our Advent Story Calendar. Each day of Advent, as you reflect on the Holy Family's journey as a displaced people at the vulnerable time of childbirth, experience stories of immigrants, former refugees, and supporters in their own words as together, we build a more welcoming world.” Maybe your community does not have many refugees or immigrants. Who, in your context, needs a welcome?

Ponder:

On Christmas Eve, the gospel from Luke 2 includes this remarkable verse, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” Amidst the flurry of the season, give yourself time and space to ponder the wonder of the incarnation. The incarnation and the resurrection are the mysteries and gifts at the center of our faith, but sometimes I worry that we gloss over them. While you are doing something mundane (stirring a pot of soup, riding a chair lift, going on a walk, sitting in the pew after receiving Holy Communion) breathe deeply and give thanks for Immanuel, God with us. We trust that God came as a human being and lived among us. That’s worth taking some time to ponder.  

Light o'er the land of the needy is beaming;

rivers of life through its deserts are streaming,

bringing all peoples a Savior redeeming.

Come and save us soon! Come and save us soon!

(Lost in the Night v. 4)

Blessed Advent,

Bishop Meggan Manlove