Another day, another mass shooting in our land. How discouraging! When we look at the collective upset in our nation and in our world, it’s easy to become numb to these events and label them as such; just events that don’t really impact us, of course until they do. I must admit when I consider the complexity of the challenges we face, I find hope in the words of Isaiah in the 25th chapter starting at the 6th verse:

            On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation! For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. (NRSV)

            The season of Advent speaks of a time of waiting but also a time to prepare. When taken together it is a time of active waiting, where we can’t allow the complexity of our challenges to keep us from acting. A great place to start would be to engage one another and be agents of healing, where we awaken hope, restore dignity, and give and receive forgiveness. As disciples of Christ, are we not called to do exactly this?