Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day-Promise

I want to make poems while thinking of
the bread of heaven and the
cup of astonishment; let them be

songs in which nothing is neglected,
not a hope, not a promise. I want to make poems
that look into the earth and the heavens
and see the unseeable. I want them to honor
both the heart of faith, and the light of the world;
the gladness that says, without any words, everything. 

from Everything by Mary Oliver

Promise.

A light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not consume it.

It never will. No matter how dark the night gets, the light shines, even when we don’t recognize it.

God made a promise to our ancestors and kept it.

God made a promise to Mary and kept it.

God makes a promise to us and has and will keep it.

On the day with the longest night, the sun shined brightly. All-day. Yup, some probably wished for warmer weather and palm trees. But for me, I rejoiced in the promise of the light’s return. From now until June, the light will only grow brighter.

Do you need to hear the age-old promise of God’s love for us? Do you need to remember once more that God so loved the world that rather than condemn it, God took on flesh so that we might know life now and forever?

God promises never to leave or forsake us. I know this to be true. I imagine many of us do.

As I contemplated the way the light shined through my back door, it dawned on me that Advent will soon give way to Christmas. We will once again celebrate the birth of the Christ Child born in our midst. In the Christ Child Jesus, we see an alternative reality to the world. In Jesus, we see the embodiment of God’s promised love.

Promises.

^{54 "}He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

On this the longest night, how fitting it is to read Mary’s Magnificat, full of hope and the promise of joy.

The promise is in the light—and we are preparing for the Light—the one who will continue to do the new thing God has promised to us.

The promise is before us. God’s great reversal is underway….