Sunday, December 21st: “Come Home for Christmas: The Blessing of Home“
In our scripture passages for this Sunday, the prophet Micah predicts the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, and Luke writes about Mary and her elderly relative Elizabeth sharing their experiences of a pregnancy predicted by the angel Gabriel. God gave the women this time together and the two things they each lacked: community and connection. God removed their isolation and helped them to understand themselves more fully, as part of something larger than their individual lives. Together, they were known more fully, and began to see more clearly than they did as individuals. This is truly an Advent message – hope and understanding, that starts out slowly and quietly, like the many blessings in our lives, like the many blessings in our homes.