Out of the wilderness of Silicon Valley appeared a prophet named Steve. He wore only black turtlenecks and horn-rimmed glasses. He kept a peculiar diet of fruits and vegetables. And he cried out to throngs of people, “Repent! Change your ways!"

And so entire cities, from New York to Sydney emptied out and formed long lines around Steve's stores, camping out overnight, paying exorbitant prices, waiting to be baptized into his movement.

Why did they come?

Steve offered a better way - life would be easier, people would feel better about themselves, and join a like-minded community, evangelical in their fervor.

Prophets, disciples, and societal movements that affect millions of people are still alive and well today.

They thrive because we are all looking for happiness, community, and a way to get excited about life again.

That we are willing and even capable of changing, morphing, and becoming again, spea ks to this deep-seated desire.

And then along comes Advent.

This is our annual call to inward analysis: are we happy, are we forming real community, are we excited about life?

When we hear John the Baptist crying from the wilderness in church this Sunday, that wilderness represents those places of loneliness and longing in our lives, where we have strayed, left others, even God behind, perhaps off on a detour or distraction - and where we yearn to get back on track.

What Advent offers is Hope that change can happen. It is the run up to Christmas, when God told us in no uncertain terms, that God loves us enough to be with us, even to be one of us.

How is Jesus inviting us to change our ways, to repent, and to get back on track?

What do we need to leave behind, what do we need to say yes to?

What does allegiance to the Jesus movement look like for us today?