December 11/Second Wednesday of Advent Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matt. 11.28 As a little girl, I had more than occasional trouble getting to sleep. Hearing me as I tossed and turned in the darkness, my mother would come to my bedside and…
Category: Keeping Advent
Keeping Advent 10: Whither Wander You?
December 10/Second Tuesday of Advent If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? ~ Matt 18.12 What if you are that stray sheep? Perhaps you have gradually drifted off from the flock of your friends, family, and faith community…
Keeping Advent 9: Finding Our Way Home
December 9/Second Monday of Advent [The angel said to her], “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” ~ Luke 1.30 Finding favor with God can mean being asked to follow a path we had not even considered, and no desire to undertake. Whatever future the young Jewish peasant woman had imagined for herself, it surely did…
Keeping Advent 8: Coattails
December 8/Second Sunday of Advent [John the Baptist said to the Pharisees and Sadducees,] “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” ~ Matt 3.8-9 Complacency is an occupational hazard of participating in a two-thousand year old belief system. If we are fortunate to have been…
Keeping Advent 7: Sheepish
December 7/First Saturday of Advent When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. ~ Matt 9.36 As a child, I was often admonished not to “toot my own horn.” In the social media era, this seems a quaint and even archaic attitude. From TikTok to Instagram, self-promotion…
Keeping Advent 6: Seek Ye First
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…
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…