^72-74 God will show mercy promised to our ancestors,
upholding the abiding covenant He made with them,
Remembering the original vow He swore to Abraham,
from whom we are all descended.
God will rescue us from the grasp of our enemies
so that we may serve Him without fear all our days
⁷⁵ In holiness and justice, in the presence of the Lord.
⁷⁶ And you, my son, will be called the prophet of the Most High.
For you will be the one to prepare the way for the Lord[f]
⁷⁷ So that the Lord’s people will receive knowledge of their freedom
through the forgiveness of their sins.
⁷⁸ All this will flow from the kind and compassionate mercy of our God.
A new day is dawning:
the Sunrise from the heavens will break through in our darkness,
⁷⁹ And those who huddle in night,
those who sit in the shadow of death,
Will be able to rise and walk in the light,
guided in the pathway of peace.
Luke 1; The Voice

I saw this truck as I drove around to see patients today. “God hears prayer. Speak.”

Stuck in traffic, I had time to ponder what it might mean. And then it hit me. God hears our prayers, even though we wait and wonder and watch… even though we doubt and question and rebel… even though we hurt one another through our words and actions… even though we have contempt for other humans and experience loss and pain…

We wait on God’s mercy to be poured out over us. We know the coming of Christ was the outpouring of such love and mercy that we can’t comprehend its depths and riches.

We who sit in the shadow of death will be able to rise and walk in the Light…

That is the message of Advent – of living out and walking in the Light of God’s love and Mercy.

Play along if you’d like… the complete list is here.