Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday I’ll be preaching with John the Baptist as our very intense, very honest companion (Matthew 3:1–12). John is blunt in a way that most of us would probably find offensive, but underneath his harsh words is a deep conviction: we really can change. Advent is not just about waiting for a baby in a manger; it’s about trusting that God is still opening up a future for us, even when we’ve settled, gone numb, or started to bel