Each day this week, I'll be sharing from a series of five Advent poems I wrote for John Knox Presbyterian Church in Seattle. I hope they will bless you as you prepare for the coming of Christmas. Darkness "For Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." -Handel’s Messiah (from Isaiah, chapter … [Read more...]
The Lord is With Thee
December 15, 2010 By 4 Comments
Each day this week, I'll be sharing from a series of five Advent poems I wrote for John Knox Presbyterian Church in Seattle. I hope they will bless you as you prepare for the coming of Christmas. The Lord is With Thee -from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1 They hail me Mary, full of grace. They bless me: brave, obedient—holy. What would you have said to the twelve-foot, light-soaked man, a gold flecked tower whose honey lips spoke your name? I said Yes. Then ran, traveled … [Read more...]
How He Entered
December 14, 2010 By 6 Comments
Each day this week, I'll be sharing from a series of five Advent poems I wrote for John Knox Presbyterian Church in Seattle. I hope they will bless you as you prepare for the coming of Christmas. How He Entered “…a son, a male child, who will rule all nations with an iron scepter.” -Revelation 12:5 He entered, not a barn, not a hay-filled nursery, but a galaxy, a kingdom groaning for his rule. He arrived, not from a young woman, trembling and homeless, but a queen … [Read more...]
Star
December 13, 2010 By 17 Comments
Each day this week, I'll be sharing from a series of five Advent poems I wrote for John Knox Presbyterian Church in Seattle. I hope they will bless you as you prepare for the coming of Christmas. Star “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” -Revelation 12:1 “…keep warm this small hot naked star/ fallen into my arms.” -Luci Shaw, “Mary’s Song” After the … [Read more...]
Theotokos of the Sign
December 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Note: I ran this post around three months ago, but am feeling like it's even more relevant for us in these weeks leading up to Christmas. Rereading it tonight has been an important reminder to me (now that I've moved from the nauseated and exhausted stage of pregnancy to the achey, complainy stage) of what it means to live in this season of my life with gratitude and joy, despite the sacrifices I've been asked to make. * * * When Pastor Beverly joined the clergy at our church in the … [Read more...]
“Come now, let us argue it out…”
December 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
That’s the New Reformed Standard Version of Isaiah 1:18. If you’ve read (or heard) this verse before, it probably went something like, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (King James Version). The NIV says: “Come now, let us settle the matter…” But, the NRSV, bless its heart, quotes God as saying, let’s fight about it. This passage is often … [Read more...]
A Prayer of Confession, for Advent…
December 3, 2010 By 8 Comments
I loved this prayer from our worship service this past Sunday. Wanted to share it with you. I can't find its source. (I'm guessing from a Presbyterian prayer book?) O promised Christ: We are a world at war. Our peace depends on your coming. We are a sinful people. Our pardon depends on your coming. We are full of good intentions but weak at keeping promises; our only hope of doing God's will is that you should come and help us do it. Lord Christ, Word made flesh, our world waits for your peace, … [Read more...]
The Waiting
November 29, 2010 By 5 Comments
Yesterday was the first day of Advent. The word comes from the Latin, “Adventus,” which means, “arrival, approach, coming.” Usually, we think of this entire season leading up to the big day of Christmas as “Christmastime,” but the church throughout history has not celebrated Christ’s arrival until the actual day. During the days of Advent, the days leading up to the 25th, we’re challenged to practice a solemn period of contemplation, almost a miniature Lent. It’s a time of … [Read more...]
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