Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash
I am grateful that our liturgical year always begins with watery readings and rituals that reflect God’s spirit. I am also grateful for the rains this week and the deep and varied shades of green; and that the fragrances of the earth are returning and coming back to life.
On Monday afternoon, just before the New Year, we took a familiar walk on the shores of Lake Chabot. The sun was shimmering, the sky a clear blue, and the wind sounded like the ocean. As we walked I couldn’t help but recall the Creation story from Genesis, and those waters of the deep that existed before creation; with God’s spirit moving, even brooding above them, and the spirit hovering above the waters. I couldn’t help but recall the story of Jesus’s baptism in the waters of the Jordan River. Both of these watery images mark Divinely inspired beginnings. God and time come out of water in a wave or a cloud or a Divinely uttered word of precious and foundational affirmation, like “it was good” or “you are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.”
Join us this Sunday, as we remember that we too, are God’s beloved child, and are called to the renewal of our lives by the Spirit.
Have you ever felt discouraged about the world lately and powerless to do anything about it? In need of hope that it’s possible for ordinary people with no weapons but the truth and courage of their convictions to overcome oppressive forces of hatred, injustice and violence? In need of an epiphany to shine forth and give us ways to shine this little light of ours so that we may be an epiphany to others? 
It’s Monday, December 17 at 7;30 pm, and as I type this, it’s hard to believe that next week, literally at this time, we will be celebrating our Christmas eve service! 
On this first Sunday of Advent, we begin to prepare for the story of Jesus’ birth with the strangest of readings, near the end of Luke, and just a few lines before the story of his death. 
As Al Jarreau once sang it so beautifully, We’re in this thing together!