Sunday, November 27, 2016

Dear God,

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me.." Isaiah said.  What does it mean to say these words?  For Isaiah it was a challenge to bring good news.  For Mary it was a bright new hope.  For Jesus it was a confirmation.  For us to breathe these words is to declare that you have touched our lives in some way.  You have inspired us or opened a new door to us.  You have healed us or transformed us.  It is a living testimony to faith.

This morning I spoke these words as I found my way into the pew at Second Presbyterian Church.  I gazed upon your picture so beautifully displayed in stained glass.  I listened as the organist played the prelude.  I felt your spirit come upon me when love washed over me, when you softened my heart, humbling me to kneel before your presence.  As we began to sing, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," I asked you to come, to really come.  I was not just singing a song; I was praying for your coming.  Suddenly, sometime during the service, Advent came to life in me.  I felt it. I breathed it in.  I reached for you and you reached back.

Your spirit
infuses us
with an expectancy,
an expectancy
of birth
and life
and joy.
Thank you,
Blessed God,
for the
season of Advent.
Thank you
for hope
that leads us home.

Love, Andrea