Welcome to the 3rd Sunday of Advent! Hopefully that is a cause for great JOY to all of you! {and hopefully very little panic that 14 days from today will be Christmas Eve.} This week the Narrative Lectionary leads us to Ezra and a new beginning (Ezra 1:1-4; 3:1-4, 10-13). Last week the people in… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Peace
In the fear of the LORD, we pray for a root — merely a root, buried deep — that we might hope for the blooming of peace. In the wonder of the LORD, we pray for a child — for every child among us — to tame the lions and asps within us to be… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Just a little light
Lord, I enjoy the yards full of lights, the choir rehearsing the songs of angels and shepherds. I love to celebrate a mother and child, an overfilled inn and a manger and… …a reindeer? I confess I get distracted by the trimmings and forget the Main Story of Christmas! So help me see your Light… Read More
Friday Festival: Advent Introspection
Advent invites us to introspection. We consider the year as it winds to an end, we consider the resolutions we so optimistically made eleven months ago (if we even remember them), we consider how we hope to move forward as we prepare to turn yet another page on the calendar. Many of our bloggers this week… Read More
Friday Prayer: Advent during The Holidays
God, ‘Tis the season for celebrations and joy, And for struggles and grief. ‘Tis the season for hurried scurrying And for expectant waiting. ‘Tis the season for doing all the things And for silent, holy nights. Holy One, we are in the Holiday Season, And we are trying to live into Advent. I suppose it… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Hope of the tree
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Isaiah 11:1 “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease” Job 14: 7 By the grace of God, may we… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary Advent 2
The end is near. Continuing Matthew’s theme, John the Baptist carries a heavy load of pointing out that the kingdom of God is immanent. A source of comfort to Mary in her magnificat, it is a source of worry for those in powers. John the Baptist promises radical restructuring of the world. “Who warned you… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Hope
O Holy Mystery, the day is near and we have gathered to await your coming. Find us here in our waiting. Kindle the hope within us. O Holy Mountain, the way is steep but we are gladly coming with plowshares and pruning hooks. Meet us along the journey. Kindle the hope between us. O Holy… Read More
11th Hour Preacher Party: Ready or Not, It’s Advent!
Are you ready? It seems that, no matter how well I plan, something always takes me by surprise when the old year gives way to Advent. It might be in the liturgy, or the decorations, or the way the first Sunday in Advent can’t seem to decide if it belongs in November or December. But… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: God’s Hope (Jeremiah 33:14-18)
The text for this week is so short I figured I would just put it here: Jeremiah 33:14-18 14 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will… Read More
