This is the second Sunday in Advent.  The reading is Zechariah’s prophecy at the presentation of his and Elizabeth’s newborn son (John the Baptist) at the Temple, the first time Zechariah had been able to speak since the angel came to tell him that they would bear a son, and he would turn many people to God.  The prophecy speaks of what the child will grow up to do, but it also talks of “the tender mercy of God.”  God’s mercy shows through the passage at several levels, and it is worth recalling in Advent as we look toward the arrival of the Christ child.  We are all, collectively and individually, recipients of that tender mercy, bestowed on us by God, whether we’re deserving, whether our lives are in order.  The question is whether we’re open, and, as recipients of God’s tender mercy, how does that direct our lives and our relationships with others?  (NOTE:  The video begins with the Children’s Moment, but once it starts you can scroll back to the beginning of the service if you want.  The entire service is videoed.)