Posts Tagged ‘Psalm 85:7-13’
Hope amidst the Eclipse of Light – Br. Curtis Almquist
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Br. Curtis Almquist
Advent 4A
Today we have lighted the last candle in the Advent wreath, the fourth and final Sunday in the season of Advent. Today is also the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen and the sun rises higher in the sky. This anticipates a holiday season of light, with festal candles adorning dinner tables, and lights aglow in windows and shops and on Christmas wreaths and trees. These lights we see all around this time of year actually have a Christian history, but not a Christian origin. Followers of Jesus in the first centuries wanted the celebration of Christ’s birth to coincide with or to rival the winter solstice festival of the Roman Empire, which was on December 25th, the day the empire called “the birthday of the unconquered sun.”[1] The early Christians were convinced that Jesus, not the emperor, was the light of the world. In later years, the Gospel writers remembered Jesus’ saying of himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Whether or not we understand the history and symbolism of festal light this season, we do innately crave light. Whether we suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, whether we are afraid of “things that go bump in the night,” or whether we simply feel that we are “in the dark” about the mystery of our own life, we crave light and enlightenment. The candles and strands of light we see most everywhere in the season of Advent and in the coming Christmastide are reminders of how common and how deep this craving for real light actually is, and from the depths of our souls. Read More
A Day of Small Beginnings – Br. James Koester
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Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Isaiah 40: 1-11
Psalm 85: 7-13
Acts 13: 14b-26
Luke 1: 57-80
It doesn’t take much: a young girl, barely a teenager, lowering her bucket into the village well, listening for the splash when it hits the water[1]; an old man, hands shaking with age, alone in the sanctuary of the Lord, spooning incense onto the red hot charcoal of the altar brazier[2]. It doesn’t take much, and suddenly there is a moment, a movement, a presence, a strange voice, a greeting: ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you’[3]; a command and a promise: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’[4]
It doesn’t take much, a young girl, barely a teenager, going about her daily chores; an old man, whose hands tremble with age, performing a duty he had done, perhaps countless times before, yet something is profoundly different. Read More
Becoming John-like – Br. James Koester
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Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Isaiah 40: 1-11
Psalm 85: 7-13
Acts 13: 14b-26
Luke 1: 57-80
Six months ago we celebrated the birth of a baby. And not just any baby, but a particular baby whose birth and life and death and life changed the course of world history. But the birth of that baby did not just change world history; it also changed the lives and histories of countless women and men throughout the centuries, including each one of us. None of us here in the chapel tonight have had our lives untouched by the One whose birth we celebrated last December. Even the most skeptical and cynical, the most casual, or simply the most curious here tonight have been changed in incalculable ways by that birth. If that were not true, why are you not home making supper even as we speak?
The Nativity of John the Baptist – Br. David Allen
Is. 40:1-11 / Ps. 85:7-13 / Acts 13:14b-26 / Lk. 1:57-80
Just over 13 months ago, while Br. Timothy and I were chaplains to a group of pilgrims at St. George’s College, Jerusalem, we were taken to visit the village of Ein Kerem, just to the west of the city of Jerusalem. According to tradition this is the village where John the Baptist was born. Read More