Advent Day 23

Advent is a threshold time, an in-between time as we wait for God to come. I chose these lines from a poem by R.S. Thomas and the image of opening a door to illustrate how Advent opens us to a new reality.

Advent Day 21

According to Isaiah and Matthew, pregnancy is the sign that God is with us.

Advent Day 20

One of the themes of Advent is waiting. Just like Mary waited for the child growing within her, we wait for the coming of Christ.

Advent Day 19

In this Sunday's Gospel lesson, an angel tells Joseph, "Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife." And Joseph obeys.

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Advent Day 18

I've always wondered what Joseph went through as he wrestled with his decision to dismiss Mary or to marry her.

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Advent Day 17

Our New Testament lesson for this Sunday consists of the opening lines of Paul's letter to the Romans. In my imagination I can see him carefully forming the letters of his message.

Advent Day 16

In the Old Testament lesson for Sunday, the prophet Isaiah tells King Ahaz to ask God for a sign, but Ahaz refuses. But God gave him a sign anyway.

Third Sunday of Advent

Last night I heard the Bremerton Symphony Chorale perform the Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach. Three members of St. Antony's sung in the performance, which was joyful and uplifting. A good way to observe the Third Sunday of Advent.

Advent Day 14

Katy and I are dog-sitting Basil, our grand-dog, while our son, Chad, and his fiance, Brittany, are in Hawaii. As I watch Basil pine for his masters to return, I think about the theme of waiting in Advent. Basil is waiting.

Advent Day Thirteen

The Gospel message is that God has overturned the ways of the world. In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus tells Paul that he has healed the lame and made the blind see. In the Magnificat, we hear Mary's cry of joy that God has cast down the mighty and lifted up the lowly. In our own small ways, we live out the Gospel message.

Advent Day Twelve

In our Gospel story for Sunday, John is languishing in prison. He tells his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come?"

It makes me wonder about the various kinds of prisons we find ourselves in.

Advent Day 11

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In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, Jesus quotes the prophet who says, "See, I am sending my messengers the prophets ahead of you." It made me think of where I stand in the line of the prophets.

Advent Day Ten

One of the themes of Advent is waiting. The lesson from James for this Sunday picks up this theme: "Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord."

Advent Day Nine

The Old Testament experience of exile was deep and profound for the people of Israel. They were taken from their familiar beloved country to an alien place they didn't know, with gods they didn't recognize. Their experience of grief and loss helped form them into a people that did not need to have a building or a city to know they were the children of God.

Today we may feel that we're living in exile from the old, familiar ways we used to know, when hard work was rewarded with prosperity and our country was a beacon of light, when everyone went to church (or pretended to). Now the world is hard to recognize, with virtual life more important than ordinary life, when inequality is increasing and wages are falling, and when culture wars divide us into spiteful camps.

Who will speak a word of hope to our times? The words of the ancient hymn speak to us today as they have in the past: "O come, O come, Emmanuel."

Advent Day Eight

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent, a holy day in the season of preparation.

Advent Day Seven

The Reading fro the Letter of Paul to the Romans says, "Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you." This makes me think about all the ways we welcome life as it comes to us.

Advent Day Six

Advent Day Five

In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, John the Baptist fulfills the words of Isaiah, who says, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Makes me think about all the ways we might prepare the way of the Lord.

Advent Day Four

John the Baptist is the focus of the Gospel reading this Sunday. I think of him as a very intense guy.

Advent Day Three

Advent Day Two

Advent Day One

For the season of Advent, I'll send a drawing each day as a kind of Advent Calendar. Here's Day One:

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