December 5/First Thursday of Advent “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” ~ Matt 7.21 To many skeptics of Christianity, the gap between our profession of faith and our enactment of it in daily life – between words and actions…
Author: Betsy Cahill
Keeping Advent 3: Awesome
December 3/First Tuesday of Advent His delight shall be the fear of the LORD. ~ Isaiah 11.3 Midway through a retreat I was leading for faculty and staff of a Jesuit high school some years ago, a young teacher sitting in the back raised her hand. “How,” she asked with a hint of exasperation, “do I explain ‘fear of the…
Keeping Advent 2: Higher Up
December 2/First Monday of Advent In days to come, the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. ~ Isaiah 2.1 In an age of discord and incivility, we are in desperate need of a vision of hope. The prophet Isaiah — writing perhaps as early as the 8th century before…
Keeping Advent 1: Stand and Deliver
December 1/First Sunday of Advent But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. ~ Luke 21.28 We begin the season of watching for the light with a reminder that we are a people who dwell in darkness. Luke’s apocalyptic text in today’s Gospel reading might have been lifted right…
Advent Reflections 2024
Friends, Again this year, I will be offering Advent reflections by email. These brief meditations are accompanied by a prayer, a musical offering, and a link to the day’s lectionary readings. The reflections will begin on the first Sunday of Advent, December 1, and will conclude on Christmas Eve. The sign-up form is located in the righthand corner of the…
Song 40: A Gracious Plenty
March 30/Holy SaturdayEaster Vigil You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you…
Song 39: Broken
March 29/Good Friday I am forgotten like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken. ~ Ps 31.12-13 Years ago I had the opportunity to help create a mosaic, and participating in that process intensified my fascination with the form. The process of taking irregular and broken pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic and creating a…
Song 38: Debt Service
March 28/Holy Thursday What shall I return to the LORD for all his benefits to me?The cup of salvation I will raise, and on the name of the Lord will I call. ~ Ps 116.12-13 At the day’s end, I spend a few moments reflecting on the gifts that God has given me. They can be large — decent health,…
Song 37: The Saving Turn
March 27/Wednesday of Holy Week Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none;for consolers, not one could I find. But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. ~ Ps 69.21, 29,…
Song 36: Our Help in Ages Past
March 26/Tuesday of Holy Week For you are my hope, O LORD; my trust, O God, from my youth.On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. ~ Ps 71.5-6 As I prepare to attend my [big number here] high-school reunion next month, I find myself thinking a lot about the gift of abiding friendships. …