Ever been stuck while you were traveling? Maybe your car broke down, or your flight was canceled; perhaps you were lost and didn’t know which way to turn. No matter what the circumstances, you were stuck in a place where you didn’t want to be and yearning to return to a place where you belonged.
For years, the Israelites knew that feeling all too well. They were stuck in Babylon and yearning to return to their homeland. It was then that God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and promised them a way home. He called it a highway in the desert. No, probably not a 6-lane paved interstate as we know it today, but a route they could take that was safe and well-provisioned.
How would it feel to know there was a way home? In a word, Joyous! And it is this joy that we will be celebrating as we gather for worship at 10 a.m. on this third Sunday in Advent. I hope you will make time to join me and invite your friends and family to join you as well!