The Rev. Mike Angell is rector of The Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion in St. Louis.
Advent is an invitation to hope. We learn quickly from Jesus that hope is not something light and fluffy. Hope takes grit. Hope means taking risks. Hope means leaning into conflict, and living with the complexity, not settling for easy answers.
I am grateful to serve in a congregation that is willing to be loud, to make a Holy Commotion, to shine a light. Love enough to cast out hate.
When we have seen citizenship not as a resource to be defended, but as a project to be shared, we have been closer to the dream Jesus has for our world.
