Make Room

Advent Sundays: December 3, 10, 17, and 24

Advent begins this Sunday, December 3, and lasts four Sundays before Christmas, ending on Christmas Eve. During Advent, we remember how long God's people watched and waited for the promised Savior. But are also invited to lean into our own waiting and longing for God's Kingdom to come. The lighting of Advent candles during our weekly Sunday service is not mere tradition but a tangible reminder of the in-breaking light of Jesus Christ into our broken world. Come, Lord Jesus!

Because the season of Advent is so strongly associated with waiting, it can be easy to sugar-glaze everything over with a holly-jolly anticipatory magic — the warm fuzzies you get while waiting for Santa to come with presents. Yes, the anticipation and preparation for Christmas is a beautiful thing, but the truth is that waiting can be WEARYING. Waiting can bring up feelings of fear, frustration, anger, and antagonism.

And yet the WAITING into which Jesus invites us to enter does not sugar-glaze the pain but makes room for HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE amidst the longing — to look out for the glimmers of God’s grace in the darkness. In our present age, with fear, frustration, anger, and antagonism all around us and in the world, can we look out instead for opportunities to make room for Jesus and for those whom Jesus loves?

We invite you to join us this Advent season as we explore God’s invitation to “make room” for all that Jesus brings and to make room for others at Jesus’ (s)table.