A monthly message from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Email Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson.
The season we have entered is one of homecomings on many levels — geographical, emotional, social and spiritual.
Just as Joseph and Mary traveled to their ancestors' hometown, many Christians live December as a journey to the emotional, social and spiritual home that shaped and nurtured their identity and faith. Our expectation and hope is for joyful reunion and a renewal of the bonds of love.
Even when winter snow, icy roads, fogged-in airports, work commitments or illness make travel impossible, our minds and spirits still revisit memories of gatherings with family, friends and neighbors in our homes.
The Advent season, our monthlong journey to the celebration of Jesus' birth, is a homecoming of a particular sort. It is our return to the story where we discover how deeply God loves humankind — so much so that God took on human flesh to join the human family, to make a home with humankind.
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© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers