It’s Advent: What kind of Messiah are you expecting? A harsh one? That’s the one it looks as if scripture was anticipating: A savior who slays the wicked and sweeps up the unrepentant like dust on the floor and burns them in the incinerator.

Waiting in joyful hope. It’s what we’re doing: waiting for the coming of our rescuer, Jesus. Advent stories define so many arrivals: babies conceived by a woman too old, and another too inexperienced, to enjoy such privileges.

While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”

It had been a bad day. Nothing had gone right. I was frustrated and angry and decidedly feeling sorry for myself. I took a long walk to the park and sat on a bench staring at the waves and wanting to do nothing more than lick my wounds and feel sorry for myself.

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

The God who creates justice for those who suffer violence . . . that is the God of hope for the new world of righteousness and justice and peace.