October 21, 2022

“I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3: 16-17)

You can’t deny the power of Toto. (The band, not the dog in The Wizard of Oz, although that Toto is undeniably cute.) I tried to deny the power of Toto in the 80’s, but recently when Rosanna came on the radio, I saw the light.

“All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes. Rosanna, Rosanna.”

Toto knows. Toto know that we are primarily driven by our appetites and emotions, rather than (as we would like to believe) our reason and our will power. And because our appetites and our emotions often lead us into nowhere good, we find we are in need of Help from the Outside.

The Help whose name is Jesus.

“Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.” (Third Sunday in Advent – BCP)