Psalm 72, 111, 113 • 2 Samuel 7:1-17 • Luke 1:39-48a(48b-56) “And it came to pass in those days.” Here begins the first, and for a long time the only, passage of scripture I had ever known by heart, thanks to my starring role as narrator in the Christmas pageant as a child. On first … read more
Advent Meditation: Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Psalm 66, 67, 116, 117 • 1 Samuel 2:1b-10 • Luke 1:26-38 In these verses of Luke, the angel Gabriel visits Mary, a virgin, and tells her that she is to be the mother of the son of God. Gabriel also informs Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, an older woman thought to be barren, was […]
Advent Meditation: Monday, December 23, 2019
Psalm 61, 62, 112, 115 • Zephaniah 3:14-20 • Luke 1:1-25 Luke 1 asks us to suspend reality and embrace absurdity. Girls are born with all their eggs. Eggs get old. Unless they have conceived previously, by age forty, most women can’t bear children. If she gets pregnant for the first time after age forty, […]
Advent Meditation: Sunday, December 22, 2019
Psalm 8, 24, 29, 84 • Genesis 3:8-15 • John 3:16-21 “What is it that makes people happy?” I heard a reporter ask a researcher of the topic. He replied, “A lack of nostalgia.” Nostalgia is remembering things that never were as if they could be once again. I sometimes think it is out of […]
Advent Meditation: Saturday, December 21, 2019
Psalm 55, 138, 139:1-17(18-23) • Zechariah 8:9-17 • Matthew 25:31-46 “Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.” It was six years ago that I was with my priest in my car. We pulled in from lunch where we explored what God was doing in my life. She brought up the priesthood. “I […]
Advent Meditation: Friday, December 20, 2019
Psalm 40, 54, 51 • Zechariah 7:8-8:8 • Matthew 25:14-30 Wait. Reflect. Trust. Pray…Nope! I was anxious! As a kid, I could not wait for what was to come. I wanted candy now. I wanted answers now. I wanted forgiveness, hope, gifts now! To endure the pain of waiting for a parent to finish shopping […]
Advent Meditation: Thursday, December 19, 2019
Psalm 50, [59,60] *or* 33 • Zechariah 4:1-14 • Matthew 25:1-13 We have all been to a wedding. We have seen the bridegroom waiting for the bride to arrive. The bridesmaids are the attendants who walk in first as if to announce that the bride is about to appear. In the Parable of the Ten […]
Advent Meditation: Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Psalm 49, [53], 119:49-72 • Zechariah 3:1-10 • Matthew 24:45-51 Psalm 119 witnesses to the deep love of Torah that was surely at the center of Jesus’s own faith, love that is also evident in the faithfulness of the first slave in Matthew’s parable, the one who sees care of the household as a sacred […]
Advent Meditation: Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Psalm 45, 47, 48 • Zechariah 2:1-13 • Matthew 24:32-44 I’ve always tried to rush this time of year. In the past, I felt Advent was something we had to endure to get to all the joys of Christmas – family, the carols, and if you’re a stickler for such things, the Christmas tree. This […]
Advent Meditation: Monday, December 16, 2019
Psalm 41, 44, 52 • Zechariah 1:7-17 • Matthew 24:15-31 My favorite memories are connected to the winter season. With the first cold snap, I get excited about baking my favorite goodies, building a good fire, and hosting holiday parties. My chest fills with excitement and anticipation for the magic and mystery of the season. […]