Day 88
Sunday, November 27, 2022
Scripture
For God’s gifts and God’s call are irrevocable. —Romans 11:29
Wisdom
The turnover between Thanksgiving and Advent is intense. But I’ve found that the more fully I’m able to celebrate Thanksgiving’s gratitude for abundance, the more likely I am to focus clearly on the Christmas hope of Christ’s coming. So although it’s a fluke of our secular calendar, the confluence of both holidays together is richer than either of them is on its own. So maybe I shouldn’t worry that the first Sunday of Advent finds my home in a colossal mess, with Thanksgiving gourds and pumpkins still sitting out while Christmas decorations are hauled up from the basement. One wreath on the door comes down and another goes up; the orange and brown tablecloth gets pulled off and the red and green one spread out. It looks confused and chaotic. Maybe I should think of it this way instead: as a reminder that I have already received every gift from God that I need, as I wait for the revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ. —Christine Chakoian, Christian Century, November 21, 2011, Gifts already received
Prayer
Guard the colossal mess, our living rooms still askew with gourds and pumpkins. Let gratitude shield this day, as we begin, with open hearts, to welcome the Christ Child anew with wreath and tree, red and green, gifts received, and gladly given. Amen. —The Reverend Dr. Katie Snipes Lancaster