Magnificat block print by Ben Wildflower

 

Kindred in Christ,

 

Advent reminds us that joy shows up when we least expect it, breaking into our lives in surprising and life-giving ways. It catches us off guard, stirs our hearts, and invites us to see the world through God’s eyes.

 

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent, when we celebrate Joy and continue our series The Will to Dream. Many churches are skilled at memory, honoring the past and remembering the ways God has worked in our lives before. That is powerful and important. Yet, as we have been exploring, faith also calls us to move beyond memory, to step into imagination, and to be open to the new ways God is at work in our lives and in the world. In that openness to God’s newness, we encounter joy that surprises us and carries us forward.

 

This week, we turn to Mary, whose song, the Magnificat, bursts with revolutionary joy. She sings of God’s power to cast down the mighty and send the rich away, to lift up the lowly, feed the hungry, and bring justice to the oppressed (Luke 1:39–55). Mary’s song invites us to imagine a world made new and calls us to join in God’s liberating work.

 

Come this Sunday as we light the Joy candle, sing with our choir, pray together, and open ourselves to God’s suprising joy. Your voice and your presence are part of this revolutionary song.

 

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul