Jesus began to speak about John:
“What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?”
—Matthew 11.7
We don’t seek someone in soft robes,
a spokesperson from the royal ballroom.
We’re not just awaiting the happy morning
with presents and family and comfort food.
We await a Messiah who will be with us
in our loss and lay hands on our trauma,
and heal us and the evils of this world.
It will disturb—a thorough pruning,
axes at the roots of unfruitful trees,
winnowing and cleansing fire.
It will be a firm and gentle revolution
against the Empire of hate and greed:
the unwhole healed, the dead raised,
the poor receiving good news,
the desert blossoming.
God’s intent for us is serious.
So our Advent preparations are festive:
we deck halls, bake cookies, wrap gits.
But they are also sober and deeply attentive.
We hang lights, but also honor the darkness,
for it is in this darkness, this,
that the promise unfolds among us,
this darkness in which God comes
to be with us in our anguish.
We let our eyes adjust, to see in the dark.
When we see clearly what we see,
the world indeed begins to change.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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