46th Annual Advent Vespers

Guide Our Feet Into the Way of Peace

As nations war and hostility deepens, fear and cynicism take root in our hearts and our communities. We begin to accept the pain of this world as inevitable, even necessary. In times like these, God sends prophets to point us in a new direction, to remind us of God’s loving intentions for the world. Our Vespers theme this year comes from the song of Zechariah, an aging priest who rejoices at the birth of his son, John the Baptist. Zechariah prophesizes that his child will “go before the Lord to prepare his ways.”

A few months later, God’s promised hope, Jesus, will be born in Bethlehem. But through Zechariah and John, Elizabeth and Mary, God’s hope in us never wavered. While peaceful times may feel far off, we join the defiant song of Zechariah that points towards a future day when the fullness of God’s shalom dawns once again in our lives.

https://www.augsburg.edu/advent-vespers/