December 19/Fourth Monday of Advent “For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb,until the day of his death.’” ~ Judges 13.7 On you I depend from birth;from my mother’s womb you are my strength. ~ Psalm 71.6 A friend of mine, not a regular church-goer at the moment, recently remarked after a funeral that she was glad she…
Author: Betsy Cahill
Keeping Advent 22: Exit Strategies
December 18/Fourth Sunday of Advent When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. ~ Matt. 1.24 Joseph wanted out. His plans to marry a young village woman were upended when he learned of her unexpected – and inexplicable – pregnancy. Being a righteous man (obedient to Jewish…
Keeping Advent 21: The Royals
December 17/Third Friday of Advent The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. . . Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. David became the father of Solomon, whose…
Keeping Advent 20: Stop, In the Name of Love
December 16/Third Friday of Advent All who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant,Them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer. ~ Isa. 56.6-7 In Hebrew, “sabbath” literally means a stop, a pause, a cessation of activity. To insist on Sabbath observance, as the Lord does in today’s…
Keeping Advent 19: Cold Shower
December 15/Third Thursday of Advent All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, and who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God; but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves. ~ Luke 7.29-30 One of our favorite family stories is that…
Keeping Advent 18: Drum Majors
December 14/Third Wednesday of Advent At that time, John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the LORD to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” When the men came to the Lord, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who…
Keeping Advent 17: Close Encounters
December 13/Third Tuesday of Advent “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.” ~ Psalm 34.19 The holidays do not pair well with grief and sorrow, but many experience these emotions with special intensity during this season. What leaves us more brokenhearted than losing someone we love? In the face of such loss…
Keeping Advent 16: Leaps and Bounds
December 12/Third Monday of AdventFeast of Our Lady of Guadalupe When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ~ Luke 1.41 I will never forget the ten-week ultrasound for my fourth child (now, alas, a college senior). As Fred the technician zeroed in on the tiny image, I saw…
Keeping Advent 15: Transformers
December 11/Third Sunday of Advent Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” ~ Matt 11.4-5 In a 2014 graduation speech at the University of…
Keeping Advent 14: Conversation Partners
December 10/Second Saturday of Advent As they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ~ Matt 17.9-10 It is meet and right to set aside dedicated daily prayer time, but we don’t have to stop there. Prayer is, at its core, an ongoing conversation with the One…