Dear Saints,

We’re one week into Advent and only 15 days until Christmas. It’s worth a gut-check: have I spent the season wisely so far? If so, keep going! If not, there’s still time - begin now.

Today we encounter the colorful character of John the Baptist. John was what you might call a boundary pusher, and for good reason: he came with a message that utterly obliterated the boundaries. Up till then, sin and death had pinned people into small and servile lives, but those limits were about to be demolished forever, and John’s job was to ready the people for the revolution.

John foretold the coming of the prince of peace; it’s perhaps particularly unjust, then, that he met with such a violent end. But we can honor his sacrifice by heeding his message. Let’s spend the next 15 days deliberately dismantling the boundaries of selfishness and fear we’ve set up around our own hearts. With gratitude for the messenger who first alerted us to his coming, let’s prepare the way of the Lord into our lives.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ