Day 7
Saturday, December 3
Ann-Marie Keltner
Scrolling through the news any day of the week, it’s easy for me to get overwhelmed by the headlines. Any one of the events alone is enough to heighten fear and uncertainty to unusual levels. Yet this year, we are faced with multitudes of them. Every day they come at me, bombarding me with emotional missiles of injustice, anger, and unfairness. The words of Psalm 72:4 ring in my ears: “May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.”
Yet, my hope in these earthly problems being set right should not rest on politics, governments, or institutions of men. It rests in a lowly manger––in a dirty stall, on a baby born to the poorest––a social outcast. During Advent, my heart is filled with hopeful waiting for the return of the world’s true king. I must take refuge in knowing that our savior has come, and in his kingdom, all of the wrongs will be made right. His birth and subsequent death on the cross mean that the world will be made right again.
But do I just wait? No. I humble myself to his awesome power and repent of my sins, my transgressions that add fuel to the Evil One’s fire. I rejoice in Jesus’s birth and pray for him to cleanse me so that I may be ready to meet him when he comes. And as I do that, I listen. Amidst the barrage of news, tweets, and noise, I listen. I listen for the “Voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” (Matt 3:3, Is 40:3)
Ann-Marie lives in Jamaica Plain and loves singing show tunes in the car with her daughter.