Church of the Advent of Christ the King

The God who makes all things new is not creating a world where we must finally get everything right, but a world where there is nothing left to hide from. The God who wipes away tears, death, mourning, and pain also wipes away shame. And when we see one another the way God sees us — when we see ourselves the way God sees us — there is no hiding in the garden. There is only being fully known, and fully held.

The totality of our lives is one thing but today we celebrate something even more awesome. We celebrate the totality of life itself. The eternal Word, who existed before anything else existed, enters our reality.

This is the gift we unwrap each Christmastide. The Wisdom of God is accessible to us now. God went through human life, death and resurrection to deliver this gift to us. It is important that we regularly discern what it is in our lives that we are doing with this gift.

God chose to understand us with great intimacy. God’s judgement is already revealing in our lives that which can stand the light of day.

In the face of oppression, joy is holy. Joy in the face of oppression is holy rebellion. When our queer and trans, BIPOC and immigrant siblings are joyful, even as their rights are being rolled back, it is a holy thing. It is saying that I am the image of God and you cannot take that away

Everyone enters a wilderness at some point. We go there due to illness, emotional stress, or spiritual dryness. Some of us are there for a time. Others live with chronic situations of mind or body. Whatever our wilderness, it is often difficult to find God in the midst of it.