Readings (Click the links to see the readings)

Isaiah 41.13-20 | Ps 145.8-13 | Matthew 11.11-15

Advent Poem
Enuma Okoro

I want to find my place
amongst the people of Advent
but I can't quite decide who I am.
I want to be pregnant with God
but it takes such a toll on the body.
I have given birth to things before
And labor is hard and untimely.
I want to welcome angels and say yes,
to anything.
but if I saw an angel I would hold him
hostage and send a ransom note of questions
demanding answers, to God.

I want to cheer blessings from the sidelines
with a belly growing with prophecies,
and have friends and strangers take hope.
Because God has a season
for those whose seasons have passed. I want to put my trust in dreams
and in the words of the ones I love,
to believe that God is as close as
the one who would share my bed.

But mostly I want a break from being
the one who mostly falls silent
in the presence of all that's holy,
who loses her words in disbelief,
terrified by claims of joy and gladness,
unable to believe that prayers are answered.

Prayer

O Lord,
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit
that when your Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever.

Justice, mercy and peace

The UN designated 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation, recognizing that "water is critical for sustainable development, including environmental integrity and the eradication of poverty and hunger, and is indispensable for human health and well-being." Water has become one of most sought after natural resource in recent decades. Human conflict, wars, climate change, and over usage has left large portions of the world's population without easy and sustainable access to clean, and drinkable water.

"I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. " (Isaiah 41.18)

"The Lord is gracious and compassionate" (Ps 145:8) — Bridget Moses.