One of America's greatest soldiers, Douglas MacArthur, had a very curious habit.

On many occasions, when the great general found himself on the battle line he would stand up and take a look at the lay of the land, even walking into incoming fire, thus tiptoeing that very thin line between bravery and stupidity, which many would argue he crossed more than once. Looking at the combat behavior of Ulysses S. Grant yields similar observation. Historians marvel at how these two not only consistently made brilliant combat decisions, but survived at all.

It makes us wonder if they saw something others didn't, and that their battle line behavior was not as hubristic and cocksure as it was a yielding to some curious, unseen intuition.

If that’s the case, it's this kind of trust in the unseen that we hear about in Sunday's gospel. On the first Sunday of Advent, the church gives us readings that are apocalyptic in nature, filled with images of end time distress and confusion and thus reminiscent not of Jesus' coming as an infant on Christmas, but his coming again in victory at the end of time. In these passages we are told not once, but twice to stand tall in the commotion for God is near.

We are given these words so that we may stand firm in the turbulent times we face, to set our gaze on a horizon others may have a hard time seeing.

Friends, there may be no greater gift or witness than our resolve to keep calm in the storm, to be that voice of hope and encouragement, to live lives unfazed by enemy fire, but captivated by something more.

The world needs us to stand tall, to have faith in the midst of enemy fire, to yield to that unseen intuition tugging at our hearts.

So we begin this season of Advent and a new year’s call to more deeply rest in Christ, renewing our commitment to prayer, abiding in God, and caring for our neighbors. Prayer, spiritual reading, increased focus on God’s presence around us. This is how we get the strength to stand firm.

How might we use Advent to draw closer to that unseen voice? The one looking to equip us with the curious habit of standing in the midst of battle?