December 12, 2023 We don’t often (ever?) think of Hagar during Advent, yet her story (Genesis 16) epitomizes Emmanuel: God with Us. El Roi and Ishmael, God who sees and God who hears, are with her. Her story is one of despair and of salvation, of being considered a nobody by Abraham and Sarah andContinueContinue reading “Advent 2: Hagar”
Tag Archives: Advent
Advent One: A Story
December 2023 When I was a child, I was mesmerized by the Advent Season. Mesmerized is a powerful word, and completely accurate. I still see that sense of rapt wonder on the faces of children watching candlelight, and I hope it still shows on my own. Advent, which means coming, is the four-week period inContinueContinue reading “Advent One: A Story”
The Psalms of Advent: Amen
December 16, 2022 “The world is not respectable; it is mortal, tormented, deluded forever; but it is shot through with beauty, with love, with glints of courage and laughter; and in these, the spirit blooms . . . .” George Santayana Twenty-one days ago, I began this series on The Psalms of Advent with theContinueContinue reading “The Psalms of Advent: Amen”
Wednesday, Advent Week 3: Deep
The Psalms of Advent, December 14, 2022 You are invited to light a candle and join me as we finish sitting with Psalm 42 this morning. You may find this psalm at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2042&version=NRSVUE. My favorite verse in all of the psalms is found in this one, where “deep calls to deep” (verse 7). Within eachContinueContinue reading “Wednesday, Advent Week 3: Deep”
Tuesday, Advent Week 3: Where?
You are invited to light a candle and join me as we continue our journey with Advent Psalm 42, found here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2042&version=NRSVUE. As mentioned in the previous blog, the author of this poignant psalm-song-poem was most likely in Babylonian exile or had just returned to Israel, perhaps Jerusalem, and was mourning the ruin and displacementContinueContinue reading “Tuesday, Advent Week 3: Where?”
Monday, Advent Week 3: Thirst
Psalms of Advent, December 12, 2022 You are invited to join me as we listen to Psalm 42, the second to last of the Advent psalms for this season of seeking, waiting, anticipating, and searching for the light that shines in the darkness. Psalm 42 is familiar to many people because of the memorable imageryContinueContinue reading “Monday, Advent Week 3: Thirst”
Sunday, Advent Week 3
The Psalms of Advent, December 11, 2022 Please light a candle and spend some Sabbath time reading and reflecting on this glorious psalm of praise, Psalm 146, which we have accompanied these last three days. Feast in the richness of each word. Rest in its assurances. Join in its cacophony of praise. And be blessed.ContinueContinue reading “Sunday, Advent Week 3”
Saturday, Advent Week 2: A Poem
Please light a candle and join me on this Advent journey and exploration of the Psalms of Advent. In my last blog, I wondered about the invitation to make praise both a worship and an everyday practice and experience. This poem is the response to my reflection on that. Like the psalm we have lookedContinueContinue reading “Saturday, Advent Week 2: A Poem”
Friday, Advent Week 2: Praise
Psalms of Advent, Dec. 9, 2022 You are invited to light a candle and join me in reflecting again on Psalm 146: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20146&version=NRSVUE. Yesterday, we sat with the word “sustains.” Today, we look at the word “praise” which begins and ends this psalm as well as psalms 147-150, the final psalms in this ancient collectionContinueContinue reading “Friday, Advent Week 2: Praise”
Wednesday, Advent Week 2: A Poem
The Psalms of Advent, December 7, 2022 Since yesterday’s post on Psalm 21 and my thoughts on the word “presence” (https://wordpress.com/view/spirit-reflections.org), I’ve had a desire to write a poem about the presence of the Divine as my meditation on this psalm. I thought of that Presence who revealed Itself in evening walks in gardens, inContinueContinue reading “Wednesday, Advent Week 2: A Poem”
Spirit Reflections 