God’s music plays through all the universe. But we are surrounded by cacophonous sounds. We contribute to making the cacophonous sounds all around us. We do so because we’re discontent because we crave something we struggle to find. My hope is you can feel God’s music reverberating through your life. God invites us to join the heavenly host playing the music of glory and peace. Join in the music of the season.

Mary’s song imagines the world that God works to bring among us in Jesus Christ. Her gift is the practice of faith for which she is blessed. We tend to think that Mary gets blessed for some particular ability or some other characteristic. But it is really faith that is the source of Mary’s blessing. She hears God’s call and she says yes because she trusts what God is working to do in the world.

John hits us straight between the eyes when he calls his listeners a “brood of vipers”, “calls them to bear fruits worthy of repentance,” and tells them it is not enough to claim an ancestry to Abraham (Luke 3:7-8). It is difficult to hear these words and then to stay engaged. What John asks of us, though, is to assess where we sit in life and to align that with God’s intentions. Living our lives aligned with God’s intentions brings joy.

We often think of repentance as feeling guilty about something we have done. But in scripture, repentance means to turn around and go a new direction. John cries out in the wilderness and call people to turn around and move towards God’s peace. Peace is about wholeness and God’s intent for creation.

“The days are surely coming.” Jeremiah proclaims hope even as we live in these chaotic times. There is much chaos around us and it can be difficult to trust in the promises of God. Advent is about waiting for those days and trusting in God’s promises…imagining what they will be and preparing ourselves to be a part of what God is doing.

We live in such rich abundance that sometimes we forget to give thanks to the Creator of it all. When we slow down and find ways to give praise to God in thanksgiving then a new path opens before us. This path is oriented to all the things God cares about.

Jesus is concluding his teaching in Jerusalem and his followers are amazed at the temple and its grandeur. He tells them it will all be coming down. The road will be difficult and there will be temptations to pursue other paths. But staying the path of Jesus leads us to the path of God’s transformation in the world.

Jesus continues teaching in Jerusalem in the last week of his life which focuses and highlights these teachings.  God pours blessings out upon each of us.  The question in this teaching of Jesus is how will we respond.  We want to feel comfortable and secure.  Jesus does not condemn the gifts of the wealthy.  He points out that their gifts do not change their comfort or security.  The widow on the other hand displays total and complete trust and dependence on God.  If we choose, our giving can change our lives through a move to complete trust and dependence on God. 

Jesus says the “Greatest Commandment” is to love God with our whole being and neighbors as ourselves. Love in the New Testament is often a verb and implies action on our part. This action is driven not by emotion but by our choice to act in ways that seek the wellbeing of others. Fear and worry that we are not worthy often get in the way of our making this decision. When we recognize that we make a life by what we give, the barriers are removed and we can give freely of ourselves to make a difference in the lives of our neighbors through love.