First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2008

The Church Year begins today with Advent, the anticipation of the coming of the Christ. We remember the anticipation prior to the Incarnation and we ourselves are anticipating his coming in glory. The Gospel passage concerns itself with his second coming:

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight,or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:33-37)

And what is the work I am placed in charge of until the Lord of the house returns? Is it to earn my own living and provide for myself, giving proportionately to those in need? Also to treat the people in my life with respect because they are created in God's image? Worhip and pray? Is there anything else?

Noel! Concert

Last night, my dad and I went to a Christmas concert by a local ensemble, Noel! that consisted of two violins, a viola, four harps, a percussionist, a cello, a flute, and a reader who read poetry. It was just a lovely program. Some of the music was just unearthly in its beauty, and the reading was so well done!

It is pretty rare to hear poetry well read. I think even poets don't necessarily read their own poetry well; a skill for writing is not always a skill for performance. Some of the poems I really liked included Thomas Hardy's "The Oxen," Rudyard Kipling's "Eddi's Service," and "Candlelit Heart," by Mary E. Linton.