I realize that there may be some of us who are in the wilderness right now. If and when you are willing and able, we are here to bear witness. When it feels messy and impossible, when the way forward is unclear, when it feel like too much—God is with you, we are here, and you are not alone.

Loving our neighbors and joining God in these great reversals is not going to look like us becoming pregnant and giving birth to the Son of God. There are a lot of people in this world who are going to do great things for God. But as for me? I just want to love a simple life of faithfulness. I want to to experience God with US. Maybe you do too. So we take dinner to our newly widowed neighbor. We march and protest against injustice in our city. We sit with our friend as they mourn the loss of a loved one. We help our neighbors give their kids a happy Christmas morning.

Our task then is to learn how to use our power in a similar way— to reject any other temptation to use power in a way that is antithetical to the way of Jesus, even at great personal cost. Like Daniel and his friends, who chose not to force their beliefs onto others but accepted the consequences of living a life of integrity with grace and faith. And like Jesus, who could have used his power to conquer the world but instead showed us that power should be used as an invitation to a better way of life. Like Jesus who literally laid down his life rather than sit on an earthly throne.

I have been coming back to Psalm 121 for 25+ years. Sometimes I read it with complete faith in the assurances it gives. And other times I read it when I am full of doubt and distrust, hoping to find some kind of comfort in the words. I think both postures are a perfectly valid way to come at the Psalms, and at Scripture in general. The Psalms invite us to feel all the ranges of human emotion, while reminding us of who God is and what God does. And so we hold both, together, at the same time.

I truly believe that just as Jesus was present on the beach with the disciples, He is present with us as we live our everyday lives. It’s in the everyday that we are shaped by God. It’s in the discipline of showing up every day that we find transformation. The life that Jesus invites us to is hard and honest and good. Let’s share this life together.

Every year we tell this story again because this story is the very crux of our faith. Every other story in the Bible either moves us toward the cross and the empty tomb or into the life we lead because of the them. I would invite us to hear these familiar stories again with tender and open hearts. Maybe not to learn something new, but for reassurance and affirmation of the truth that Jesus is alive.

I want to offer two things. One is that these rhythms—the church calendar, the rhythms of Integrated Faith, and our own personal rhythms, are meant to give us life, not hold us back. They are meant to be a framework for life with Jesus, the trellis for the vine to grow on, if you will.

If this feels like a season of light, let it be. Enjoy the warmth of the sun and the ease of life. Eat and drink and be merry. And understand that this season will not last forever. If this feels like a season of darkness, let it be. Lean into the mystery and uncertainty. Learn what God has to show you. Remember the story of creation, where the Spirit is present in the darkness. And have faith that this season will not last forever.