December 4/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 the past year or so it has felt as if the world is unraveling. Global violence and terror, political division and social acrimony, storms and fires and floods, the…
Category: Keeping Advent
Keeping Advent 1: Hiking Into Time
December 3/First Sunday of Advent Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. ~ Mark 13.33 A few Novembers ago, on my first trip to the Grand Canyon, my husband and I walked the South Rim, following the trail along the canyon’s top. When we reached the Bright Angel trailhead, he opted to stay on…
Keeping Advent 2023: Daily Reflections for the Advent Season
I will be offering Advent reflections again this year. These brief meditations, based on the lectionary, are accompanied by a prayer, a musical offering, and a link to the day’s readings. The reflections will begin on the first Sunday of Advent, December 3, and will conclude on Christmas Eve. If you or someone you know wishes to receive a daily…
Keeping Advent 28: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
December 24/Fourth Saturday of AdventChristmas 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 26: The Mighty One
December 22/Fourth Thursday of Advent And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. ~ Luke 1.46 For people of my generation, there are few funnier examples of a soul that proclaims its own greatness than Peter Sellers’ rendition of Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther, whose high self-regard is matched (if not exceeded) only by his…
Keeping Advent 25: Why Me?
December 21/Fourth Wednesday 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 ~ Luke 1.42 If there are any fashionable virtues these days — and sometimes it seems that the very concept of virtue is obsolete — we can be sure that humility is not among…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 24: What to Wear
December 20/Fourth Tuesday of Advent Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place?One whose hands are clean, whose heart is pure, who does not lift up his soul to what is empty. ~ Ps 24.3-4 People still tend to dress for church in my small and historic parish. Men don coats and…
Keeping Advent 23: The Center Will Hold
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…
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…