Dear Friends in Christ,

God encourage us in this reading from Isaiah:

Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come.       Isaiah 35:3,4

J Davey Gerhard the author of an Advent reflection written for the TENS newsletter reflects on this passage:

Here is one of Scripture’s most tender invitations: “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.” Advent does not ask us to pretend. It does not require us to be strong. Instead, it shows us God turning toward the vulnerable – in ourselves, in each other… and teaching us to do the same. …. Hands weaken under strain; knees tremble under worry. In times of illness, depression, grief, or exhaustion, strength ebbs slowly. And Isaiah’s response is pastoral: not “be strong,” but “let us help steady you until strength returns.”

He continues

This is the heart of Advent:

a God who strengthens rather than shames;
a God who brings renewal where we imagined only desolation;
a God who leads us home by joy, not coercion.

The way God prepares for us as God leads us home is one where:

Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
    grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

This Advent, even as the season rushes swiftly by, we are invited to follow God along God’s way all the way to the manger where we will rest in God’s glory as we sing Christmas hymns and hear once again the story of how God came into the world to be our companion and guide.

Faithfully yours,

Rebecca

Father Christian continues to improve.  He is still at Dameron and welcomes visitors.