In a week of so much terror, grief, and turmoil, we aren’t that far away from the people in Micah’s time who are fearful, exhausted, and wondering where hope can be found and when relief will appear. We’re not all that far away from Mary’s time where she is a vulnerable person without rights or security in her own land because her citizenship isn’t Roman citizenship.
In a month when children and an adult seeking asylum died in our government’s custody from dehydration and neglect, it is easy to wonder where hope is and when relief will be realized.
From the prophets to the present day, though, we are the ones we’re waiting for. In the Advent of our lives, we can give thanks for Holy help and encouragement. And we also know that we are capable of finding ways to bring more hope, more love, more justice, more home right here and now into being. The journey is long. The struggle is real. And yes, we can be overwhelmed by grief and paralyzed by fear and exhausted beyond measure.
So we gather together and light some lights against the terrors and suffering. We hold one another. We lift our voices in song and we gather up the pieces of our hearts to find courage for another day, another day where we can join the Holy in stirring up some more justice, stirring up some more love, stirring up the peace and home we all so deeply yearn for and need.
My life has been changed countless times by one person risking connection after another, from the singers who visited me when I was stuck in bed and voiceless, to the person who would not leave me when threat was near, to someone noticing I needed one more accommodation that was in their power to make happen, to one more invitation to risk and find joy. Take a few moments to remember some ways your life is different in good ways because of someone else.
Life is risky is a corollary to the truth that life has suffering. The question for us is how we will risk bringing more love, more hope, and more justice into being today, tomorrow, and every day we live.
