Advent 3 (Joy, Shepherds)

Sunday, December 15 through Saturday, December 21

As we light the third candle, this time the pink candle symbolizing joy, we are also lighting the candle in honor of the shepherds, ordinary working folks leading ordinary lives, yet chosen to get a first glimpse of the Divine come down to earth. Now that we have considered the hope set before us and our postures and preparations in response, the devotions this week concentrate on the path toward the reordered world that will come with Jesus, the path revealed to the shepherds on the hillside, bringing joy to their everyday lives.  What is the practical vision for the ordinary, the oppressed, the lost?  Where is the path and how do we walk in it? John the Baptist and his parents Zechariah and Elizabeth show up this week to help pave a path for that vision:  Your God will come, made in human likeness; peace be within you.