December 2/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 those who do not inhabit the pew of a church on a weekly basis, the gap between the profession of the Christian faith and…
Category: Keeping Advent
Keeping Advent 4: Abbondanza!
December 1/First Wednesday of Advent On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. ~ Isa 25.6 At this season of the year, with Thanksgiving dinner in the rearview mirror (barely!) and the Christmas meal looming, we may find ourselves spending a lot of…
Keeping Advent 3: Being A Brownie
November 30/First Tuesday of AdventFeast of Saint Andrew As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ~ Matt 4.18 As a sister and a mother, I have both participated in and witnessed my fair share of…
Keeping Advent 2: Dialing In
November 29/First Monday of Advent 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 The Roman centurion, for all his authority and accomplishment, was not part of the community of Jesus’s followers or of the larger Jewish community in which Jesus lived and moved. He was…
Keeping Advent 1: Stand and Deliver
November 28/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 It could have been lifted right out of the daily papers and social media sites, this passage from Luke. In the cosmos, disturbance and dismay. On earth, nations in anguish. All of us perplexed by the roaring…
Keeping Advent 26: The Dawn of Peace
December 24/Fourth Thursday of Advent In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. ~ Luke 1.79 At the very edge of the dark world, a world of deep anxiety,…
Keeping Advent 25: What’s in a Name?
December 23/Fourth Wednesday of Advent He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. ~ Luke 1.63 The other day I came across a list of baby names that my husband and I had compiled more than twenty-five years ago, as we awaited the birth of our first child. All of them were family…
Keeping Advent 24: Let Your Life Sing
December 22/Fourth Tuesday of Advent Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” ~ Luke 1.46 Decades ago, after successfully completing interviews that would propel me to the final round of a scholarship competition, I floated into the car for the two-hour drive home and immediately popped the Hallelujah chorus from…
Keeping Advent 23: Let the Sun Shine In
December 21/Fourth Monday of Advent The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. ~ Song of Songs 2.11 “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” ~ Luke 1.43 It has been an extraordinarily, even existentially…
Keeping Advent 22: The Lord Be With You
December 20/Fourth Sunday of Advent “I have been with you wherever you went.” ~ 2 Sam 7.9 Even in this retail-challenged year, when many of us are avoiding stores, some people still seem to have a knack for picking out wonderful gifts — the book that delights, the scarf that adorns, the kitchen gadget that becomes indispensable. Others of us…