I was excited to receive an invitation this summer to write a meditation for #AdventWord2020. If you’re not familiar with #AdventWord, it is a simple and interactive (if you want) way to engage in reflection on the Advent Sunday lectionary readings via one word a day throughout the Season of Advent. Today marks the first Sunday of Advent – a day we hear words from the prophet Isaiah and light one candle on the Advent wreath. We await, with expectation, for the birth of Christ – Emmanuel: God is with us. And in this “Year of the Pandemic,” Advent will be filled with more expectation perhaps than usual as we look for the light at the end of this long, long darkness we have been in since March.