Together, we wait for God's beloved thief who will come to steal from us that which we need to let go to welcome the new heaven and new earth.
We are called, in this Season of Advent, to be on guard and alert not out of some sense of paranoia but instead out of hopeful anticipation for what God is doing in the world.
When we provoke one another in acts of love and good deeds, it is kind of like we are poking one another, challenging one another to hold ourselves accountable to go above and beyond to do these acts of love and good deeds and not just talk about them.