Author: Matt LeRoy

The manger tells us that into this deep and despairing darkness a Light is dawning.

As we edge ever closer to the moment of the Messiah’s arrival, his name starts to form on our lips and take root in our souls and lay claim to our stories.

Mary’s response in Nazareth stands in direct contrast to Eve’s response in the Garden. Faced with that first temptation, Eve’s response of doubt leads to insurrection. Mary’s response of trust leads to surrender.

Our anointed Shepherd King, emerging from David’s line and born in David’s town, will defeat the giants of sin and death with the unlikely weapon of cross and blood.

Jesus is the Way we’ve been waiting for. But not a static gate or hidden passage that we must search for until we discover it. No. This way is on the move. It winds through the farthest and forgotten corners of creation.

Advent is an invitation to look again at the story you’ve seen repeated every single year of your life and pause long enough to find it fresh.

The grand news from the angel Gabriel is that our salvation will be called the Son of the Most High God. And in this Son we will see what the Father is like.

During adversity we should lean into God, not as an escape to forget the pain of reality, but as an engagement with the ultimate reality.

In the midst of tragedy we often find ourselves reaching for a song. Not in naive denial, but as an act of defiance.

We have felt the weight of the yoke, splintered by the bar, broken by the rod. We rejoice because the strong one has come to shatter them.

The Gospel of Matthew shows us that Jesus came through a lineage of broken people to heal and save and redeem broken people.

Let your heart be filled with hope, experience the joy and wonder, soak in the peace. But brace yourself. He has come to change the world. And you along with it.