By Scott Hochstetler, professor of music
This week’s theme: On the road to revelation
This week’s Scriptures: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 | Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26 | Romans 16:25-27 | Luke 1:26-38, 46b-55
“Never mess with plumbing on the weekend.” Well, lesson learned. After an impromptu exploration of my house’s main water shutoff valve on Saturday, what began as a small drip turned into a steady stream of water, requiring emptying buckets of water every two hours. Though we finally got the dripping to stop on Monday morning when the plumber came, we now have come face-to-face with a corroded pipe that should’ve been replaced years ago. Yep, our 100-year-old house has unmasked and revealed its diseased innards.
And that got me reflecting on our current situation. The pandemic has changed everything – how we work, how we eat, how we play, how we worship. It’s also revealed and confirmed so many ugly truths; widespread racial injustice, massive economic disparities, a polarized citizenry. It’s forced us to stop and reflect, really reflect, on who we’ve become as a nation and a world.
And yet, there have been positive revelations too. Though my profession, choral music-making, has been hit particularly hard (our voices have turned from healing balm into deadly contagion), it’s helped us learn the importance of listening carefully to each other (even though we can barely hear), connecting to each other (even though we are distanced), and watching each other (even though masks obscure our expressions). It’s revealed our deep interdependence and our profound need for human connection.
This advent season is unusual, to say the least. The holiday parties, the concerts, the gatherings, the hustle and bustle of in-person shopping – most of that is gone. With our newfound, reflective time, what is God revealing to you? What does God’s coming to us in the flesh into our imperfect world reveal about God’s love for us? What proverbial scab might you need to rip off to reveal wounds that need healing? May you find the space and time this season to start on the road to revelation.