December 2

Stand up. Raise up your heads. Your redemption is drawing near. Really?

At this tattered front edge of Advent 2024, it may be hard to sense the proximity of redemption. It feels more like the rudder of the boat has come off and we are lost at sea.

But part of the problem may be that we don’t understand what redemption is. I certainly tend to imagine redemption—a new heaven and a new earth—coming at the end of a steady process of healing, fixing, and polishing.

But we are about to celebrate a baby being born right into the mess of things. God didn’t wait until everyone got healed of all their trauma and miraculously kicked all their less-than-perfect coping strategies. God arrived and loved and ministered, in Jesus, right in the midst of our hurt.

So while we are indeed in a fix right now, we are in it together, and the more we practice working together—even as imperfect and messy and traumatized as we are—the closer we get to redemption. Could it be that our current circumstances are actually drawing us nearer to redemption by inviting us into deeper community just as we are?

Prayer

Emmanuel, God-with-us-in-the-mess,
so many injustices bend us over and make our knees buckle. 
Open our hearts to recognize these forces.
May our yearning and working for their transformation
show us your redemption drawing near.
Just as we are, we pray. Amen.  

Freedom Song

Music: “If and When” by Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan
Performer: Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan