Monday Morning

Our Daily Rev Up! Monday Morning.

This morning feels less like morning and more like M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G.

We hold in prayer our brothers and sisters of the Jewish community in light of the recent terror attack in Bondi. We grieve. We lament. We stand in solidarity. God is near to the broken-hearted.

And yet… it is Advent.

And Advent names a kind of joy that is not shallow happiness or forced positivity.

Biblical joy is deeply rooted in God’s promises.

It is resilient.

It sustains us in waiting.

It transforms sorrow.

It breathes new life even as we meet pain.

Right now, joy can feel like a luxury.

There doesn’t seem to be much to rejoice about.

But Advent joy is defiant.

It looks at violence, hatred, empires, and systems of oppression and says: you do not get the last word.

When Mary sang the Magnificat, she was not naïve about Rome’s brutality. Her joy did not deny the darkness — it planted hope right in the middle of it.

And that is the gift for us today.

We do not rush past grief.

We do not silence lament.

But we dare to trust that God is still at work — overturning, healing, restoring.

So today, breathe deeply.

Hold sorrow honestly.

And let Advent joy remind you:

darkness does not win.

Love remains.

God is with us.

Amen.