December 1, 2015 | I Advent, Tuesday

Ps 1, 2, 3, 4, 7; Amos 2:6-16, 2 Pet. 1:1-11, Matt. 21:1-11

Advent

Now the season when our longing

Turns its way, the year near close;

Dresses purple, sign of halt and rue,

More a turning.__the way we move

Will not get us where our longing

Wants us go. The end we see

Is not the end we want to know.

Rather than purple, we look to red

And green we deck in snow,

Tinsel; trim with ornament; wreath

Heavy with holly; seize with garland;

Tie with bows. The end we see:

The shopping mall,__its crowds and stuff,

Emblem of our longing;

Emptiness with a musical bleat:

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas".

Rest dazed in a brief lived cul du sac,

Then return the way we see and go:

Such the evidence of our longing.

There is no wrong with all of this,

No moral stain, but only sadness.

Color blind to only purple,

Led forward by the red and green,

We miss the living view, the vast perspective,

Love's closeness,__healing,__peace,

Where the purple points.

Going there transforms the season's

Frenzy; makes joyous the red and green,

Lets decoration of our lives be gracious;

Brings high awareness of our festive end:

We live in miracle, as we are.

Jack deLoyht

Advent at St. Stephen's

Earlier meditations