Dear Friends in Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God encourage us in this reading from Isaiah:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strengthen the feeble hands,<\/em><\/strong> J Davey Gerhard the author of an Advent reflection written for the TENS newsletter reflects on this passage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is one of Scripture\u2019s most tender invitations: \u201cStrengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.\u201d Advent does not ask us to pretend. It does not require us to be strong. Instead, it shows us God turning toward the vulnerable \u2013 in ourselves, in each other\u2026 and teaching us to do the same. \u2026. Hands weaken under strain; knees tremble under worry. In times of illness, depression, grief, or exhaustion, strength ebbs slowly. And Isaiah\u2019s response is pastoral: not \u201cbe strong,\u201d but \u201clet us help steady you until strength returns.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He continues<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the heart of Advent:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n a God who strengthens rather than shames; The way God prepares for us as God leads us home is one where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Advent, even as the season rushes swiftly by, we are invited to follow God along God\u2019s way all the way to the manger where we will rest in God\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faithfully yours,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca<\/p>\n\n\n\n Father Christian continues to improve. He is still at Dameron and welcomes visitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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, \u201cBe 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\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2865,"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2864\/revisions\/2865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannestocktonchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
\u201cBe strong, do not fear;
your God will come. Isaiah 35:3,4<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
a God who brings renewal where we imagined only desolation;
a God who leads us home by joy, not coercion.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water will gush forth in the wilderness<\/em><\/strong>
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.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n