December 11/Second Monday of Advent They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. ~ Luke 5.18-19 Earlier this…
Author: Betsy Cahill
Keeping Advent 8: Memento Mori
December 10/Second Sunday of Advent Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness? ~ 2 Peter 3.11 In Muriel Spark’s 1959 novel Memento Mori, the plot revolves around an anonymous telephone caller who informs each of the elderly characters, “Remember, you must die.” The…
Keeping Advent 7: Payback
December 9/First Saturday of Advent You received without payment; give without payment. ~ Matt 10.8 Sometimes when I am driving around town, I get miffed when I choose to yield to another driver, a cyclist or a pedestrian, and don’t get a wave of thanks. After all, I have acted graciously, and I want my generosity properly acknowledged! Indeed, lack…
Keeping Advent 6: Seeking and Hiding
December 8/First Friday of Advent The Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” ~ Gen 3.9-10 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with…
Keeping Advent 5: How Firm a Foundation
December 7/First Thursday of Advent The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. ~ Matt 7.25 One of the valuable pieces of homeowner wisdom that my husband has impressed upon our children over the years is the danger that water poses…
Keeping Advent 4: The Ministry of Presence
December 6/First Wednesday of Advent Moving on from there Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, and going up onto the mountain he sat down there. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them. ~ Matt 15.29 The Jesus…
Keeping Advent 3: Wise Guys
December 5/First Tuesday of Advent “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” ~ Luke 10.21 No matter how many times I read this passage from Luke, it always takes me aback. What’s wrong with being “wise and…
Keeping Advent 2: At Your Service
December 4/First Monday of Advent When Jesus entered Capernaum a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” ~ Matt. 8.5-7 The pain of the world is always with us. We see it in the desperate faces of those…
Keeping Advent 1: Hiking Into Time
Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. ~ Mark 13.33 On a recent trip to the Grand Canyon, my husband and I walked the South Rim, taking the trail along the canyon’s top. When we reached the Bright Angel trailhead, he opted to stay on level ground, but I left the path and hiked…