advent – Page 9 – 300 words a day

Advent 4: Uncertain

A girl is somewhere. No one knows exactly where. She could be at home. She is inside somewhere. She is, we know, in a town called Nazareth. An angel shows up and tells her that God is happy with her. Her response? She is very perplexed. She is agitated. In her mind she goes over […]

by Jon Swanson

Advent 3: Silenced

Zechariah was doing what he was supposed to do. He was a priest in Israel. He was at the temple for his annual season of work. On this particular day, he was feeling pretty proud, in a humble sort of way. On this day, he was at the pinnacle of his religious career. There was […]

by Jon Swanson

Advent 2: Lost

The collection of books we know as the Old Testament ends with a very wistful image. “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,” Malachi writes about a prophet who will come. Imagine the sense of lostness that a child abandoned by his […]

by Jon Swanson

Advent 1: Empty

When people think of the Christmas story, they often go to the book of Luke in the Bible. Years of hearing Linus recite the story of the shepherds put the words of Luke in people’s hearts. And for some people, it isn’t Christmas until they hear Linus. And they wait with great anticipation. They check […]