2025 Advent Message from Bishop Russell

Whenever I meet with candidates to discuss the confirmation service, I focus on the two questions of the examination: Do you reaffirm your renunciation of evil? And do you renew your commitment to Jesus Christ? I point out that both hinge on that tiny, telling prefix re. And because of that little syllable, I remind the candidates that confirmation is rooted not in something new, but in something already given—baptism. In baptism, God bestowed the gift beyond all gifts: life eternal, heaven’s grave and hope sealed on human hearts. Forever.

To put it another way. We do not give candidates faith—they already have it. We do not give them God—they already have God, marked as Christ’s own forever. What we do in confirmation is simply this: we name what is already theirs and invite them to claim it, again, because life has a way of loosening our grip on the grace and hope that is already ours. Life distracts, distorts, even tries to dismantle our sense of belonging to God.

As I skimmed through the Propers—the lessons and collects appointed for Advent—I noticed something that surprised me. Scattered throughout the scriptures and prayers are verbs wrapped in that same small prefix: return, renew, restore, repent, rejoice. And suddenly the thought stirred in my heart: Advent is like confirmation.

For Advent, too, is a season for remembering and returning. A time to treasure again the gift of life eternal, to recognize again God’s presence in a world that can feel weary and worn, to repent and reorient our lives toward God, and to return to the love that first arrived for us in Bethlehem.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Advent is a season when so much clamors for our allegiance and competes for our attention. It is a noisy month—bright and beautiful at times, but also busy and burdened. The world grows louder, and often our spirits do too.

So as you journey through the coming weeks, you might ask yourself: What is the “re” verb your soul needs most right now?

Is it to repent of something that is wearing you down, so that you can begin afresh?

To reconcile with someone you love but from whom you feel distant?

To return to a deeper study of Scripture or the stillness of prayer?

To renew your commitment to your community of faith?

To rejoice—truly rejoice—in the grace of each day you are given?

What would it take for you to find your way back to God, so that something new may be born again in you? Advent is God’s invitation to do just that—to return, to rejoice, to repent, to reawaken our heart to God. Why? Because so often we forget who we are and what is already ours.

One of my favorite films is The Lion King. The story pivots on a powerful moment when Simba is confronted by Rafiki—who, I am convinced is a Bishop—when he insists, “You have forgotten who you are.”

Rafiki then leads Simba on a wild, winding journey through a dense and noisy forest, full of echoes and shadows and tangled roots. At last they reach a pool of water, where Simba is visited by his father. And Mufasa’s plea is simple and stirring: “Remember who you are.”

Only then does Simba return to his purpose, reclaim his identity, and rediscover the courage that had been his all along.

Advent is our journey like that—a pilgrimage back to God. Through the noise, through the narrowing paths of our own lives, we hear again the holy whisper: Remember who you are.

Remember whose you are. Reclaim the life God has already planted within you.

So this Advent, pay attention to the small but sacred syllable: re.

Return. Rejoice. Repent. Reaffirm. Renew. Remember.

And in doing so, may we discover once more the courage to welcome Christ into the fullness of our hearts—for Christ is already here, already near, and always will be. Forever.

+Russell