Psalm 116
I love the Lord because he has heard
    my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord,
    “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

5 Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
6 The Lord protects the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest,
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.
9 I walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
10 [a]I kept my faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
    “Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the Lord
    for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord;
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
    You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
    and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

As we turn toward Christmas this Advent season, we hear the invitation of God through the language of our ancestor David.  We are invited to come and praise.  We are invited to offer thanksgiving.  We are invited to bring our afflictions.  We are invited to call upon the Lord.  

We are invited to raise up our voice to the Lord with all of the self secure in knowing that God’s actions are for us, knowing that the bonds will be loosed.  To do so is the child like faith that God so desires from us, turning to God as a child turns to a parent for safety and comfort, shelter and supply.  

We are invited like Mary  to say yes to the drama of carrying the Word into the world, trusting that God will give us all we need to raise up and bear the message well.

We are invited like Joseph to take a risk and accept what might not be believable and then  travel to a distant place, the house of nurishment  so that the Word can be made tangible for all the earth. 

We are invited like the shepherd, to seek and find the Word then go  into the world and tell the good news.

We are invited like the Magi to follow light revelaing  passion and creating room for praising  the Word that gives us life.

We are Invited.

Dear Lord,
During this first week of Advent, help us to hear the invitation, to heed the call of your beconing to know you better. Open our ears to your invitation to say “yes” to bearing the Word to the world, telling the beautiful story of family and strangers that say yes to you. In Jesus name, Amen.