The visitor's curiosity led him to chip away at the layers of whitewash and dirt covering the wall until he discovered a beautiful mural of Mary and the child Jesus. Generations before, the townspeople had a reason for making the sign of the cross, but succeeding generations only learned the ritual. They continued to go through the motions without knowing the reason. Two Advent Sundays are behind us and most of the Christians in America did not attend worship on either of them. By contrast, in most of the countries where LCMS World Mission works in Africa, nearly twice as many people worshiped at the Lutheran churches as are members of those churches.
Advent is a season of repentance and a season of promises and possibilities.
On the one hand, we have John the Baptizer urging us to repent, to change and get our lives and priorities in order. On the other hand, we have Isaiah telling us about a time of great peace and wondrous renewal. I realize that in Isaiah's language, the word doesn't appear. It is a way to express the future tense in English. But the NIV translation illustrates a truth about Isaiah.