advent – Page 7 – 300 words a day

Advent 15: The familiar

For the past couple weeks, we’ve been talking about the people who expected someone. After all, that’s kind of the theme of advent: people expecting a deliverer, people expecting the return of a deliverer. But it’s impossible to skip over a group of people who were expecting things the wrong way. Jesus comes home for a […]

by Jon Swanson

Advent 14: Blind

Jesus had a deep affection for blind guys. That may be an over-generalization, it may be reading too much into the biblical text. What would be more accurate is that he healed several. Sometimes he touched them. Sometimes he spit on the ground to make mud and rubbed it on their eyes. Sometimes he said […]

by Jon Swanson

Advent 13: Captive audience

“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives.” Jesus read that from Isaiah to some people who were captives. Some people are trapped by other people. Some people are trapped by their own bodies. Some people are trapped by broken elevators. Some people are trapped by education–or lack thereof. Some people are trapped […]

by Jon Swanson

Advent 12: Poor

I could, I know, talk about how Jesus was tempted. If we were working straight through the book of Luke, we would have to. There was some anticipation there, though I think that the anticipation was mostly on Jesus’ part. I want to skip that and move on to the first recorded sermon from Jesus. […]

by Jon Swanson

Advent 11: Sinners

With that as the title, who is going to read this post? I wouldn’t. But I read in Luke 3 that “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.” And what came right before that? A whole long discussion of John telling people that […]