Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Matthew 4:4

Every loaf of bread in the world has the same basic ingredients.  Flour, water, yeast, effort, time, heat.  The difference between a dry, brick hard loaf of bread and a steaming baguette depends on the maker.  Given the right experience, knowledge, and a few extra add-ins, these basic ingredients can be transformed into any loaf of bread you can imagine.  

The same goes with story.  The basic elements are the same.  Love, loss, suspense, a journey, a character to root for, a resolution.  The stories we inhabit and the stories we tell are all created with these same ingredients.  The quality and the outcome are in the time we give our stories, and the experience of the storyteller.  

This is true for the story of Advent. It is a story with the same ingredients.  A journey, a sacrifice, an injection of hope, a golden thread of redemption, woven together into the narrative that shapes our very relationship with creation, with the Creator. The difference between our stories and this story is the Storyteller.  This is not just a story.  This is THE story.  One that has the potential to transform our lives and hearts, if we give permission.  As we prepare to inhabit this story over the next 26 days, allow the basic ingredients to blend together.  To come alive.  To rise.  To fall and to be beaten down, to rise again.  

The ingredients are all here.  Lined up on the counter.  Ready to come alive.  Are you ready?