The Surprise Party Christmas appears like a midnight surpriseAngels ignite shadowy skies.A voice heard in the winter cold,“God is young but man is old.” Joseph and Mary put to the testTired and aching but nowhere to rest.The cold winter wearies like a constant thresh.A virgin gives birth to God’s Word made flesh The great reverse…
Historically, Advent was a solemn time of preparation for the sacred Feast of the Nativity. We begin by reflecting on the coming of the Lord, even as we face dark themes of judgment and our own deaths. Oddly, this meditation is not for gloom but prepares the heart for joy. It helps to awaken to…
Advent 2 2020 (Evening Prayer)Rev. Doug FloydIsaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85, 1 Peter 3:8-18, Mark 1:1-8 Advent begins at the end of the world. We might also say that Advent takes us to the very edge of the world. It takes us to the place where the world is collapsing, a world is collapsing. It takes…
Advent Calendar He will come like last leaf’s fall.One night when the November windhas flayed trees to bone, and earthwakes choking on the mould,the soft shroud’s folding. He will come like the frost.One morning when the shrinking earthopens on mist, to find itselfarrested in the netof alien, sword-set beauty. He will come like dark.One evening…
“There is in the time of the Church no historically influential theology which is not itself a reflection of the glory of God; only beautiful theology, that is, only theology which, grasped by the glory of God, is able itself to transmit its rays, has the chance of making any impact in human history by conviction and transformation.” – Hans Urs Von Balthasar…
Advent begins at the end. The long wait for the Lord to “rend the heavens and come down.” It is a season of remembering the great works of the Lord even as it is a time of crying out for His favor, His healing grace, His coming again. It speaks to the deep longing within our hearts. The deep ache that realizes…
Rev. Doug Floyd Each year, I hear at least one person say, “Are you in the Christmas spirit?” Or another might say, “I just don’t feel like Christmas this year.” Year after year the refrain rolls on. I’m not always sure what the “Christmas spirit” is or feels like. But I think it has something…
Advent tears open the night like a flash of lightning hope. It sounds an alarm, awaking us from the stupor of struggle and toil. Our world is lulled to sleep by the droning of kings, the marching of boots, and the frenzy of crisis. Not just this age, but every age. When Hebrew exiles finally…
Here is a rich video of Former Archbishop Rowan Williams, calling us to a time of Advent reflection.
Christmas lights are popping up in the neighborhood and holiday tunes dance through the stores. It’s time for the yearly gluttony of eating and buying. It’s also time for Advent, a season of repentance, focused on watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord. The call to devotion and the call to consume compete…