Advent is a season of stars: twinkling over shepherds, leading the Magi to Bethlehem, and filling our own dark Advent nights with glimmers of brilliance. Dark skies are perfect for stargazing, for seeking out the Light of the World among the deep indigos, bottomless blues, and inky blacks of God’s night sky. Just as the shepherds and Magi looked up to the heavens and faithfully followed the stars, we’ll spend the next four weeks training our eyes to wait, and to watch, and to wonder at all God has done – and will do – for the love of this broken, beautiful world. During this season of anticipation, we center ourselves in the vast universe and connect deeply with the ancient stories of people who struggled through their own experiences of the dangers and challenges of Empire, including Jesus who was born in extremely vulnerable circumstances.