We begin a new church year this First Sunday of Advent with the prayer “Stir up your power and come!” Isaiah wants God to rip the heavens open. The prophet cries out for an apparently distant, angry God to show up, to save, to restore. When we hear Jesus describing the coming of the Son of Man with stars falling from heaven, it can sound dire and horrible, not like anything we would ever hope for. But when we really look at the suffering of people God loves, we can share the hope that God would tear open the heavens and come.