For the third Sunday in Advent, Gaudete (Joy) Sunday, Rev. Cari juggles two texts: Isaiah 35:1-10 and Luke 1:39-45.

Advent is a journey through the wilderness, a desolate landscape where it looks like nothing redemptive can happen, but is exactly the place where God is most at work… and Advent is a period of gestation in which God will surprise us by bringing the Christ-life to birth in our time and place.

Toward the end of the sermon, there is a period of silent reflection on either or both of these questions: “What is God asking me to bear this Christmas?” or “Where do I hope God’s generous approach will surprisingly bloom?”

We carry our pondering with us into the rest of the Advent journey.