This tiny psalm packs quite a punch. Serving as a benediction for pilgrims who've journeyed through the collection of Psalms of Ascent, Psalm 134 packs references and allusions to just less than half of the others in the collection (see psalms 121, 122, 124, 128, 132, & 133). As such, it concludes the collection by pronouncing a call to worship and a blessing upon the pilgrims as they return to their daily lives.

The life of God’s people is always situated within community. Wholeness of life is experienced both in relationship to God, and to one another. Entering Holy Week, Jesus reminds us that His crucifixion and resurrection were to be remembered, expressed, and experienced within His newly created community.

The Old Testament scriptures aid modern-day faith by offering glimpses of how faith and hope work in practice. These mysterious non-tangible expressions of our soul are always rooted in something concrete. As practitioners of faith and hope, this concreteness tethers our spiritual yearnings to the present.

There's some unique language thrown around in theological circles that can go a long way in helping us understand the nature of God and God's activity in the world. One of my favorites is irruption. It is also a particularly "Adventy" type of word. I simply cannot hear, say, or type it without it forming an image in my head. It immediately sparks my imagination, igniting divine expectation.

Advent, like the life of the Christian, is a season of contrast and resistance. It is shockingly a dissatisfied life.

Preparing for Advent. Advent is a season of hope. As such, it is anticipatory and impoverished. It begins in the darkness‚—the darkness among us, the darkness opposing us, and the darkness within us. We see it, name it, and from that uncomfortable place, resist it—all the while attempting to do so in a wash of black Friday deals and mass consumerism.