Advent (Day 28) Christmas Eve
O Holy Night O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O hear the...
Advent (Day 27)
"Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty - he is...
Advent (Day 26)
Advent, like life, is bittersweet. And this is as it should be. "In this world you will have trouble," Jesus said. Yet, he didn't finish there. He continued: "But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). And that is the unadulterated sweetness of Christmas. He came to us. He overcame everything that troubles us. This has...
Advent (Day 25)
Do not be afraid (Luke 2:10). Those words still echo from the day of his birth. How is it that we forget? Why do we close our ears? We busy ourselves with words, with rules, with judgements and controversies. We worry. And, yes, we continue to live lives rooted in fear. Afraid we're doing it wrong. Afraid we'll lose it all. Afraid someone will...
Advent (Day 24)
In our family, we always celebrate Christmas with a birthday cake. Sometimes, birthday pie. No, it isn't in honor of Jesus. We don't sing "happy birthday to Jesus," appropriate as that may be. We sing to our own birthday boy. My husband. Born on Christmas Day ... well, not too many years ago. Three days after Christmas and birthday we...
Advent (Day 23)
Who else but Hopkins to wake us up, to dazzle our eyes and ears, and to fill us with expectation? A poem for you on this final Monday of Advent: from “The Wreck of the Deutschland” Now burn, new born to the world, Doubled-natured name,...