Make ready for the Face that speaks like lightning,
uttering the new name of your exultation
deep in the vitals of your soul.
Make ready for the Christ, whose smile, like lightning,
sets free the song of everlasting glory
that now sleeps in your paper flesh, like dynamite.

A book of hours, Thomas Merton. Edited by Kathleen Deignan

Elizabeth and Zacharias, Stanley Spencer (wikiart.org)

For the people of the advent narrative what they were about to experience was a new start. For some this was welcome, for others maybe it was not. For some it was water on parched ground.

Many things were rolled up into one tumultuous storm of surprising speeches and actions: a Face appears, song and dreams wake up and regenerate the soul.

And in Zechariah and Elizabeth's cases fear takes a grip, a mouth falls mute and disgrace is dismissed.

Questions:
Is there an area in your life where starting again is a refreshing thought?

Is there an action or symbolic gesture that would help to kick start this?