The rivers of Africa can create considerable trouble for those who must cross. In many places, a pontoon is the only means of crossing a river which may be inhabited by crocodiles and hippos. At one of these crossings in Zambia, the driver uses a whistle to guide cars onto the pontoon. Every sound of the whistle means a certain move to be made. If the driver fails to listen closely or interprets a whistled direction wrongly, the result will be a bath in the river.

Some sounds of Advent are suggested to us by the African spiritual, Kum ba Yah. The words are directed toward God. "Come by here, Lord." We want God to come into our lives again.

The Advent and Christmas seasons are a time of high suicide rates. There are voices around us crying because of loneliness. Can you imagine what it would be like to have no friends? To have no one on whom you could rely? To know no one cared about you?

Do we believe that prayer changes things? Do we believe that something happens when we pray for other people? Jesus did. He was constantly praying for other people.

Florence Alshorn, a missionary teacher, once said, "an ideal is not yours until it comes out of your fingertips." To be a Christian is not just to be decent and respectable. It is to be involved, sometimes with the sheep who left the fold, the prodigal son, the woman who was found in adultery, the jealous woman, the cold-hearted man.

“Listen! Your sentinels life up their voices, together they sing for joy.” (Isaiah 52:8 NRSV). This hymn depicts God's coming to Jerusalem. It can also be seen as a description of God's coming into our lives. Christ has won the victory over sin and death. Chaos is overcome. Beauty, peace, and joy are the results of this good news.

Zacchaeus was a rich man, a tax collector. He probably had a large and beautiful home, perfect for entertaining. But he was excluded from most society, leaving him a lonely man. The Jews considered him a traitor to their nation. The Roman government used his services but did not accept him as a person. He was willing to climb a tree to see a man who associated with tax collectors and sinners.