December 21/Third Thursday of Advent Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry . . .“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” ~ Luke 1.45 There is irony in Elizabeth’s praise of Mary’s faithfulness. After all, the older woman had experienced firsthand the ramifications of not trusting in God’s promises. At the…
Keeping Advent 18: Everyday People
December 20/Third Wednesday of Advent Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. ” ~ Luke 1.38 The culture in which we live and breathe sometimes seems to idolize the extreme and the extraordinary. Leading an ordinary life is not enough: we have to be the best,…
Keeping Advent 17: The Waiting Game
December 19/Third Tuesday of Advent But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.” ~ Luke 1.13 In the course of raising four children, I have spent a lot of time waiting. Not only waiting out the nine months of pregnancy, but waiting in carpool lines, waiting for toddlers to fall asleep and…
Keeping Advent 16: Planning the Work, Working the Plan
December 18/Third Monday of Advent Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your…
Keeping Advent 15: Satellites
December 17/Third Sunday of Advent He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ~ John 1.8 Although it has been nearly five centuries since Nicholas Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model of the universe, geocentrism — or more accurately, anthropocentrism — still seems to dominate our culture, at least metaphorically. Between curating Facebook profiles, creating Snapchat stories,…
Keeping Advent 14: Attention! Attention!
December 16/Second Saturday of Advent Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; Take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted. ~ Ps 80.15-16 My husband, whose thumb is verdant beyond compare, likes to say that if you want to kill a plant, all you have to do is to put it…
Keeping Advent 13: Capriccioso
December 15/Second Friday of Advent Jesus said to the crowd: ”To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,…
Keeping Advent 12: Blessed Are the Peacemakers
December 14/Second Thursday of Advent “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” ~ Matt 11.12 At the close of 2017, our world is riven by violence — wars, terrorism, and human trafficking, not to mention acts of individual cruelty and a divisive civic discourse…
Keeping Advent 11: The Things We Carry
December 13/Second Wednesday of Advent “Come to me, all you that are weary and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matt 11.28 Whenever I find myself tempted to judge or criticize friend or stranger, I try to remember the saying that a dear friend used to have taped inside her kitchen cabinet: ”Be kinder than necessary, because…
Keeping Advent 10: Only Connect
December 12/Second Tuesday of Advent During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ~ Luke 1.39-40 Announcing a pregnancy to a beloved friend or family member has to rank up near the top of life’s most joyful moments. But…