December 6/First Friday of Advent One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek:To dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD and contemplate his temple. ~ Ps 27.4 What have you sought? What have you loved? To answer these two straightforward questions at…
Category: Keeping Advent
Keeping Advent 5: Location, Location, Location
December 5/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 Anyone who lives in a hurricane-prone coastal plain, as I do, is well acquainted with the destructive power of the rain, the floods, and…
Keeping Advent 4: The Host with the Most
December 4/First Wednesday of Advent On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines. ~ Isa 25.6 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ~ Ps 23.5 Then he took the seven loaves and the…
Keeping Advent 3: If I Only Had a Heart
December 3/First Tuesday of Advent Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “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 As a perennial student, I have always felt a special respect, bordering on reverence,…
Keeping Advent 2: The Boss
December 2/First Monday of Advent The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” ~ Matt 8.8 After a long period of banishment, humility may be becoming fashionable again. Earlier this fall, no less an authority than the New York Times reported…
Keeping Advent 1: It’s About Time
December 1/First Sunday of Advent “Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.” ~ Rom 13.11 “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. ~ Matt 24.44 The two-minute warning is a well-attested parenting technique for easing transitions…
Advent Reflections Start December 1!
The Advent season is a time of hopeful expectation, as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child. Again this year, I will be offering daily Advent reflections by email. These brief reflections are accompanied by a prayer and a link to the day’s lectionary readings. The reflections will begin Sunday, December 1 and conclude on Christmas…
Keeping Advent 23: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
December 24/Fourth Monday of Advent Christmas Eve “You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.” ~ Luke 1.76 We are on the cusp of Christmas. The last Advent calendar window has been opened; the four candles on the Advent wreath have been lit; all the verses…
Keeping Advent 22: Why Me?
December 23/Fourth Sunday of Advent Elizabeth . . . said, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” ~ Luke 1.42 If there are any fashionable virtues these days — and sometimes it seems that the very concept of virtue is obsolete — we can be sure that humility is not among…
Keeping Advent 21: Devil’s Food
December 22/Third Saturday of Advent He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ~ Luke 1.51 PEWSAGL. This nonsense word is the mnemonic, or memory device, that I created for the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust) during my high school study of Chaucer, and it still occupies space in my brain from…