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Category Archives: advent meditations
On the longest night
We are not alone. This is what our Communion means: we are here for ourselves, but also with and for one another; and Christ is here with and for us.
We are not alone. Joseph, our ancestor, dreamer and dutiful carer, bearer of the burdens of humanity and holiness, watches our dreams, and remembers, and reminds us, that the angels are attending us, too.
We are not alone. God is with us. May it be enough. Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, homily
Tagged grief, hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Joseph, longest night, solstice
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God’s gift
We do not get to choose whether or not God loves us. Whether we feel worthy or wormy, God loves us, and we cannot make it otherwise. Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, homily, sermon
Tagged Christmas, gift, Isaiah 7:10-16, Joseph, love, Matthew 1:18-25, Year A Advent 4
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The wolf and the lamb
To speak of love is to render it tame; so the word became flesh and took again the fiercer features of life; took flight from the angels, hid instead within the brutish warmth of mother-milk and frailty; the love whose name we dare to speak for fear else of devouring one … Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer
Tagged Incarnation, Isaiah 11:6-9, love
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The Word
Ten years later, with apologies to those still unconsoled, we wait still upon the Word to come; for good news to the victims of gun violence, peace on earth, and the goodwill to protect and celebrate every child of God. Amen: Come, Lord Jesus. Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, gun violence, poetry, prayer, Whom Shall I Fear?
Tagged Advent, anniversary, grief, Incarnation, John 1, Newtown CT, Sandy Hook, the word
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The longest night
Morning after the longest night,like the first day of creationwhen evening fell before the dawn;as the dream goes before awakening,the linened tomb before resurrection,the twilight womb before the birthof the Christ, all partand particular to his Incarnation,this nurturing dark that … Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, poetry, prayer
Tagged Incarnation, longest night, solstice
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Mary’s song, our song
The name Mary cried havoc and announced the day of the Lord’s deliverance from the bonds of oppression. Mary’s word to the angel, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord,” was the acceptance of a mantle, the mantle of Miriam, the sister and peer of Moses. Mary’s, “Let it be with me” was saying, in effect, “Bring it on.” Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, current events, sermon
Tagged Christian, Incarnation, Magnificat, Mariamme, Miriam, naming, Song of Mary
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It’s (not too) complicated
It means beating swords into ploughshares, guns into shovels, removing them from the hands and the lives and the deaths of our children. There is no deeper shadow cast than the deaths of children, and the enormity of the problem before us is our mountain to climb. Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Advent 2, gun violence, mustard seed faith, prophets
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Advent (the second coming)
There is no cloud of glory can define, no gates of heaven can confine; there is no dogma, doggerel, or doctrine can describe, no earnest imitation reinscribe him. Christ’s coming cannot be constrained or restrained by our rituals of mortality.Our candles are dimmed, our illuminated manuscripts … Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, holy days, poetry, prayer
Tagged Advent, Christ, nativity, second coming
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Solstice
This poem first appeared at Bearings Online, a publication of the Collegeville Institute, at last year’s winter solstice Solstice At the abyss of the yearthe sun is silent;but in the bleak midwintersomething shiftsA fearful hope, homunculus,wakes the woman: lightbeyond the … Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, holy days, poetry, prayer
Tagged Collegeville Institute, nativity, solstice
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Complicity with God
A sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent at the Church of the Epiphany, Euclid, Ohio The fourth Sunday of Advent is one of my favourites of the church year. The apocalyptic visions and prophetic warnings have given way to … Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations
Tagged Hubert Hastings Parry, Magnificat. Year B Advent 4
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over the water 