This week we learn that Joy is bigger than individual feelings of contentment and happiness its something of God swirling around us and bubbling up in creation. Like John from behind bars, and Mary in her dangerous place as an unwed pregnant woman, we see the world around us and know it is not as it should be. Despite all going on around us though, it's our sacred right to find Joy. It is a powerful tool of resistance. Jesus wants us in on the movement of the Spirit.

In this second week of Advent we meet John the Baptist in the wilderness offering a new way for all people; the curious, the hopeful, the faithful, and those who have lost their way. This baptism is an invitation for change, growth and empowerment in our lives. How will we let the Holy Spirit work that growth in us? What is the hard exterior we need to let go to access the good fruit of God and allow a new way to be prepared in our world and in our lives?

Our First Week of Advent starts with us being asked to stay attentive to the surprising and unexpected ways God Shows up in our world. Advent happens in the darkest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and in that time we search for, anticipate, and wait for the light just around the corner to meet us at Christmas.