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…
Keeping Advent 21: Where Have All the Angels Gone?
December 19/Third Saturday of Advent The angel replied [to Zechariah], “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.” ~ Luke 1.19 Wouldn’t it be nice to have a visible envoy from the Lord bring good news, as Gabriel brought the aging Zechariah…
Keeping Advent 20: The Best Laid Plans
December 18/Third Friday of Advent When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the…
Keeping Advent 19: Branching Out
December 17/Third Thursday of Advent The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ~ Matt 1.1 We look back at the tidy pattern of our family’s generational history, neatly delineated on the genealogy dot-coms, and it all looks so restrained, so civilized, so orderly. But as we start to probe into the…
Keeping Advent 18: Undoubtedly
December 16/Third Wednesday of Advent 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?” ~ Luke 7.18 Residing comfortably in ambiguity — or to put it more colorfully, living amid the gray — is one of the most challenging tasks we…
Keeping Advent 17: Actions > Words
December 15/Third Tuesday of Advent “Which of the two did his father’s will?” Matthew 21.31 Having had at least one teenaged son in the house for the past 15 years (at the peak there were three at once), I have developed a keen appreciation for the comic strip Zits, which chronicles the lives of the teenager Jeremy and his long-suffering…
Keeping Advent 16: On the Spot
December 14/Third Monday of Advent They discussed this among themselves. . . And they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” ~ Matthew 21.27 As this contentious election year draws (thankfully) to a close, I have come to the conclusion that the apotheosis of inauthenticity is a political debate. The throwaway lines, the cheap posturing, the refusal to…
Keeping Advent 15: Supporting Roles
December 13/Third Sunday of Advent He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ~ John 1.8 Having been a second soprano or an alto in every choral group I’ve ever sung in, I have a keen appreciation for what it means to play a supporting role. Rarely do altos get the show-stopping numbers; their job is…