Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent:

“Do you not know or have you not heard?” 

Do you not know that the One who created the heavens has also created you?

Do you not know the great might of God and the strength of God’s power?

Do you not know that the knowledge of the Lord is eternally perfect?

Do you not know the unequaled generosity of God?

Lord, how can I? When this world is in agony? When my community is suffering, and my life seems a mess? When I don’t know what my vocation is, what my purpose is, what my dreams are? It all feels impossible and overwhelming. Am I doing something wrong? Am I not doing enough?

The crosses in this world are an impossible burden. The suffering is too great. The confusion, the pain, the isolation, the fear - these are too much. The yoke is definitely not light. 

But do you not know that the One who created the heavens has also created you?

Hope in the Lord. For the Lord is the one who carries the cross with us. 

Take on Christ’s yoke. Hope in Christ’s coming, in Christ, Emmanuel -- because God truly is with us, yoked with us, suffering with us, carrying our burdens with us -- so that we will not grow weary. In fact, so that we might soar. 

Hope. 

The Saint John’s Bible is an illuminated, handwritten Bible commissioned by Saint John's University and Abbey in Minnesota. The calligraphy and illuminations completed by Donald Jackson’s teams are stunning. If you happen to be in the Saint Thomas More Golden Center, there are a couple of prints framed and hung throughout the second floor. The print of the Creation story hangs near the stairwell, and if you have the chance, I would recommend sitting in front of it. Sit with it -- with its rich colors, its glistening gold illuminations, its blue depths, its soaring wings, its enduring hope. 

Sit in hope, knowing that the One who created the heavens sits with you -- sits beneath your crosses with you, and holds you.

Donald Jackson with contributions from Chris Tomlin. Genesis Frontispiece: Creation. (Genesis 1:1-2:3) (1) [Digital ID# itw0001]. www.loc.gov/exhibits/stjohnsbible/stjohns-exhibit.html#obj1