Sunday Nov.28 Isaiah is featured in Advent Sundays this cycle of the lectionary (the 3 year cycle of church readings).the readings are Is. 2:1-5, 11:1-10, 35:1-10, 7:10-16. How I crave the vision of peace in the first reading. Where in your life should swords be turned into plowshares? We know 11 from Handel as much as Scripture itself.We use v. 2 for baptism. Why? Notice the emphasis on justice. Ch. 35 uses natural restoration as an image then as befits the move toward Christmas. Where do you need to get more strength (v.3)? Look at a birth in the royal family that Christians read as a far-off promise that points to Jesus, that a child will be born to a young woman (virgin in Greek translation). Reflect on a child being the womb of hope.

 

Monday-Recently we spoke in church about not reading enough end times material from the the hopeful side. Let's use  these:Zeph.3:14-20, including these verses 17) "God will take great delight in you/he will quiet you in his love/he will rejoice over you with singing."Amos 9:11-15 with (13) "new wine will flow from the mountains and flow from all the hills." Joel 3:17-19 with (18) "the hills will flow with milk/all the ravines will run with water/a fountain will flow out of the Lord's house/to water a valley of acacias."

 

Tuesday Not long ago, I was asked about the animals at the manger of Jesus. The gospel answer is that we have no idea, as none are mentioned in Luke or Matthew. The church's imagination is a Biblically formed one, though. Following a rabbinic principle of looking for the same word in different places, an ancient  student found Is.1:3 mentioning the manger, with an ox and donkey.

 

Wednesday-We can make better endings, as we move through phases in our lives. Forgiveness is important for endings. We can admit regrets to ourselves and others. When we can, it is a good spiritual practice to try to mend fences. Some folks are unwilling to do that, but at least you tried. We should look back and take note of the good things done, not just harp on the failures. Do you believe people who say that if they had their whole lives to do over again, they would do them exactly the same way? Good endings, as the church year closes, can open the door to a better, brighter future.

 

Thursday-The administration talked of hitting the reset button in our relations with different countries. I don't know if we can do the same, but that is part of the promise of a new year, no? We say we learn from mistakes, but we often repeat patterns more than change them. We enter a new situation and try to recreate the old one. I ran across a great piece of advice"don;t let the urgent crowd out the important."

 

Friday-Ann Weems writes liturgical poems from "Christmas spirit"Christmas spirit is that hope/ which tenaciously clings to the hearts of the faithful/ and announces in the face of any Herods of the world can produce/ and all the inn doors slammed in our faces/ and all the dark nights of our souls/ that with God all things are possible/ that even now unto us a child is born.

 

Saturday-Our daughters gave me a birthday gift certificate, and I bought O'Donohue's Beauty book. No it's not on grooming or fashion, but the  source of wonder in our lives. Here he is on the heart (219) "through the heart beauty can pervade every cell of the body and fill us....we sometimes let the prism to become dull and darkened....Prayer of course us as the supreme way we lift our limited selves toward the light, and ask it to shine into us."