Advent Prophesy

is the Advent prophesy and scripture message that I hear echoed in the voice of Rabbi Sharon Brous, a prophet for our times.

She speaks of a dangerous power that is rising and flooding our streets, one that can undermine thousands of years of being Jewish and extinguish a dream that we share for building a world for everyone.

She cautions us in our tribal responses to loneliness and isolation, reminding us of the truth and teachings of our sacred texts: all are created in God’s image and of infinite worth; know, love, and protect the stranger; be with the most vulnerable and share in their suffering.

“What happened to you?” “I’m brokenhearted.” “My loved one just died.” “I’m worried sick about my kid.” “I found a lump.”

“This is heart work,” she says. “We have to make sure that we don’t close our hearts. That is the call of our time.”

At Advent, we listen for the voices that open our hearts, move us close to the stranger and their suffering, and encourage us to build a world where all belong.

An Advent Poem

It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss — This is true: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, hunger and poverty, death and destruction — This is true: I have come that they may have life, and that abundantly.

It is not true that violence and hatred should have the last word, and that war and destruction rule forever — This is true: For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting, the Prince of Peace.

It is not true that we are simply victims of the powers of evil who seek to rule the world — This is true: To me is given authority in heaven and on earth, and lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the world.

By Daniel Berrigan, SJ

Rabbi Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of Los Angeles’s IKAR synagogue, a Jewish community that launched in 2004 to reinvigorate Jewish practice and inspire people of faith to reclaim a soulful, justice-driven voice. Her new book, The Amen Effect, can be pre-ordered.