When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream.

We were filled with laughter and we sang for joy, and the other nation said, what amazing

things the Lord has done for them.

Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us.

What joy!

For our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert, those who plant and tears will

harvest with shouts of joy.

They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.

Psalm 126, 1 through 6.

This is the Word of the Lord.

You are one in whom Christ dwells and delights.

You live in the strong and unshakable kingdom of God.

The kingdom is not in trouble, and neither are you.

Because belonging is our birthright.

We have made our home in God, and God has made a home in us.

But still there's a strange kind of waiting.

We arrive to your homesick, and the longing hasn't gone away.

We remember a time when we were filled with laughter and songs of joy, but these days

carry something different, a vague muting of color, a hush muffling the sounds, like

someone hit a cosmic slow-motion button.

But we wait in hope for the day when we'll sit together at the banquet table in our father's

house, when the winds have calmed, when the shaking has stilled, when the shadows flee

...