Advent – December 14, 2023

December 14, 2023

The Twelfth Day of Advent

I walked in the front door to an unusually quiet house, at least for 3:00 pm.  Then I saw my daughter-in-law and granddaughter, sitting together, under a blanket, on the sofa, in the living room.  It was still in the room.  My granddaughter looked up and smiled, without calling my name and running straight toward me.  My daughter-in-law said, “hello,” in a hushed tone.  There was a small stack of clothing in her lap, and she was sewing a patch on the knee of a pant leg.  Normally, I would have waved and gone down the stairs to my apartment, without thinking much about it.  But this was different.  I believe it is because everyday things are catching my eye this Advent season, more than ever.  It occurred to me that thousands of years ago, when the people were waiting for that which was to come, they were performing everyday tasks such as mending clothing, cooking meals, and bringing in the harvest.  I walked, quietly, back up the stairs, and peeked around the corner, my eyes drinking in the vignette before me.  Soon, laughter and squeals of joy would fill the air.  It would no longer be quiet.  But now, just for a while, held in the sweet silence of contentment and love, they were the gift, a vision of peace.

On this twelfth day of Advent, 2023, the reading I have chosen is from Isaiah 32:2.

The Reading

December 14, 2023

“Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.”  Isaiah 32:2