The season—along with the scriptures we read—urges us to soak up Divine wonder while it simultaneously refuses to ignore the frustration that can result from waiting on God. Whoever said that faith was a ticket to an untroubled life?

[So, my friends, let us] tell the truth; imagine new ways of being in community; show people where Jesus is, even beyond the manger. Advent requires that kind of (re)orientation, because Advent is an acknowledgement that the reign of God is pulling us into something new, strange, and wonderful, even if we aren’t always sure about how that’s happening and when we’re going to get there.

Until that time comes, the church carries on in one unending Advent existence, bearing witness to a Messiah who has more stories to tell than we know about.

Prayer

God of love,

We ask you for a blessing,

for quietness for every troubled heart,

for rest for every weary soul,

for new faith and courage for all who face exhausting tasks this day.

Help us to rest in you,

to find your stillness and your peace.

We give you thanks,

for every challenge that we face,

for every new vision of God that winged its way across our skies,

for every whisper of God that we have sensed in the beauty of your world,

for every thought of you that came in quiet moments,

for every need of you that brought us back again to you in prayer.

Grant us your benediction.

Watch over us through these winter hours of darkness.

Refresh us in spirit as well as in body.

Help us to face our tasks with steady faith and without fear,

conscious of your presence and your guidance, knowing we are yours. Amen.

Adapted from a prayer of Peter Marshall.