Advent Musings
Today marks the first Sunday in Advent. It is when the Church does this sort of "leaning in" to the mystery of the birth of Jesus. We await this New Hope--the answer to our ancestors plea for God to show up...and He does...as a baby in a small village born of a virgin. Our Prelude and our Encore is born in a manger and we are invited to make ready our hearts and homes for this exciting event. I've been doing a lot of thinking this year about how our expectations of Christmas can sometimes be far from the reality that we find around us. So here's what I'm thinking: I'm thinking that this year we really try to remember that everyone gets invited to the manger. That we all bring our brokenness and our pain, our baggage and our carry-ons, and we lay them at the feet of the King of Kings. Then, we look around to our neighbors, even the ones we don't really know or like and especially the ones we are always judging and we thank God for them and s...