Introduction

Each year as Advent returns, I find myself looking forward to hearing the familiar story once again—the promise of a child; hope, peace, joy, and love to a world that so desperately needs them. Equally, I look forward to singing the familiar carols and hearing the familiar scripture passages. They are familiar both in the sense of being well-known, and in the sense of being “like family.” They call to mind Christmases spent with grandparents, aunts and uncles, with friends who are so close they might as well be family, and with church family. They help keep us connected to our family history. It is comforting to return to beloved traditions, especially when so much else in our world feels disconnected. 

Yet, the very familiarity of these stories and songs can sometimes make them hard to truly hear. We get used to them, and sometimes that means they don’t strike our ears or hearts with the same power and freshness they once had. 

This Advent devotional series begins tomorrow and attempts to help us hear the old stories and songs with new ears, as each week we will reflect together on the sermon text from Sunday and a particular carol. We’ll be invited to hear afresh the story of Jesus’s birth through voices of the First Nations people of Canada. In addition to angels and stars, we’ll linger on a few Advent images we don’t think of as often—a rose, a guest. We’ll eavesdrop on the song the angels sang one midnight clear and discover they’re still singing. Finally, we’ll gather in Bethlehem, where the wonder of Christ’s birth is somehow always a surprise. 

I hope you’ll join us in scripture, song, and prayer as we journey together toward the coming of the light of Christ.

WRITTEN BY

Lucy Baum
Director of Formation and Fellowship