First Sunday of Advent

O quickened little wick so tightly curled,

Be folded with us into time and place,

Unfold for us the mystery of grace

And make a womb of all this wounded world.

~~ Malcolm Guite, from "O Emmanuel"

Quote for the Day: "He has also come down"

"But to my mind the real joy of psalm 47 is not so much that he has gone up as that he has also come down. The great revelation here is that, though heaven is, in one sense, still to come, we can nevertheless begin rejoicing now because God has not abandoned us here on earth but has already come down to be our king and kindle our hope." (Malcolm Guite, "He Is The Great King: a response to Psalm 47")

Four book finds

Recent thrift store book finds:

Sounding the Seasons: 70 Sonnets for the Christian Year, by Malcolm Guite

That Distant Land: The Collected Stories, by Wendell Berry

Deep Writing, by Eric Maisel

An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture, by Peter Block, Walter Brueggemann, and John McKnight

Merry Christmas

"Christ, our companion, hope for the journey, bread of compassion, open our eyes.
Grant us your vision, set our hearts burning, that all creation with you may rise."

~~ Susan Palo Cherwien, "Day of Arising"

You can read the thoughts behind this picture by Linda Richardson on Malcolm Guite's blog. 

On the third Sunday of Advent: Come, hidden Wisdom

On the third Sunday of Advent, I invite you to wander over to Malcolm Guite's website, and enjoy his poem "O Sapienta."  (It's at the end of the post, along with a sound clip.)

"Come, hidden Wisdom, come with all you bring,
Come to me now, disguised as everything."

Joy to the World

Isn't this a beautiful image for God's joyful Creation?

You can read the thoughts behind this picture by Linda Richardson on Malcolm Guite's blog.

From the beginning You spoke the Word

And from creation Your song was heard

You taught the stars in the sky to sing,

Almighty Father let everything you've made

Give praises to Your holy name

Let everything on earth proclaim

Let the whole world sing

Sing hallelujah to the King

Let the whole world sing

Lift up your voices, let them ring, let them ring

(DeGarmo and Key, from their album Mission of Mercy)

Merry Christmas to you all.

To read this week: Dante, Malcolm Guite, Lenten readings

All three combined in a series of posts on Malcolm Guite's website.

Poem for today: on unwrapping

"He who has ears to hear let him hear"

How hard to hear the things I think I know,
To peel aside the thin familiar film
That wraps and seals your secret just below:
An undiscovered good, a hidden realm,
A kingdom of reversal, where the poor
Are rich in blessing and the tragic rich
Still struggle, trapped in trappings at the door
They never opened, Life just out of reach...

—Malcolm Guite, from "Parable and Paradox"

Send me as a lark ascending: a poem and a song