Isaiah 11:1-10 

As we begin the countdown to Christmas, we face the same human struggles as those who were waiting for salvation over 2,000 years ago. The call from the gospel is that we increase in love for one another in the midst of our hoping and our fears, our planning and our anxieties, that we continue to lean on love in the midst of our lives. When we do that, salvation begins to emerge in us, for us, and for the world.

Malachi 4:1–6 & Luke 1:5–25  

After 400 years of prophetic silence, God breaks through. Zechariah and Elizabeth were afraid (and disappointed) that the coming Messiah would come and change the world and they would not be part of it. Zechariah becomes mute and lays his disappointment at God’s feet. So much noise…and then silence. But if Zechariah had decided to stay in his disappointment and silence, John the Baptist would never have been born and Jesus’ coming would never have show people the way. Zechariah has to walk through the disappointment to the other side. Even in the disappointment, can we be silent and hear the voice of an angel in our midst saying, “do not be afraid?” 

Luke 3:7-18 & Zephaniah 3:14-20 

The holiday season is a time for going home. The prophets of old often reminded the community of that home, what it looked like, what it should be, and how to get there. This week, we are invited to consider how we might come home to God, to community, to love. What does that look like? How do we get there? 

Isaiah 9:2–7 & Luke 1:26–38 

Simply being afraid will do us no good. Thankfully, it’s this time in the church’s story of Christ, that angels begin to appear. The angel Gabriel to Mary, the angels around the manger, and the first words of an angel are always, “Do not be afraid." This Advent we will listen to that angelic voice. We will set fear aside and hold on to hope like Mary.  

Luke 2:1-15 or 1-20

In Jesus, all of history’s longings and anxieties collide—and are fulfilled. He is the meeting place of heaven and earth—where fears meet true love. God with us, in flesh and bone. We are not alone in our hopes and fears. Bring your hopes and fears to the manger. He came for them all.  

Luke 2:25–35 & John 8:12

Now that Christ has come, we are invited to live in His light, walking forward in trust beyond Christmas Day.