Monday, December 28, 2020
“We, too, can look upon the infant Jesus and recognize the longing for restoration God has placed in our hearts. We recognize our Savior. The telling of the birth of Jesus is The Beautiful Story. It is an invitation through the ages for every person longing for restoration to enter its loveliness—to walk fully into this unfolding, breathtaking, lifegiving story.” —Chuck Orwiler, excerpted from Fruit of the Vine
“Samuel supports David’s kingship over Saul’s, recognizing that God is leading him in that direction because Saul is no longer following God. But he does not give up on Saul; he grieves for Saul, and he welcomes him into spiritual community when Saul is open to it.
“In our own time, perhaps we can learn from Samuel. What would it look like for us to listen to God as Samuel did, to follow God as best we can in the midst of less-than-perfect choices, to practice our faith with attention to justice and faithfulness in ways that build communal trust, and to draw together to encounter the immediacy of the living Spirit?” —Cherice Bock, excerpted from the Illuminate study of 1 Samuel 7:15–17; 8:1–10; 16:1–12.
Safe Home
I bring it to you
the safe home of me
the tea and toast and poems
like honey
I wish it for you
in starlight and sing it for you
in day rise it rests
on the fine dust of stillness
I whisper safe home
and hear your echo back
the one you secret deep away
in case you can offer it
and it can be received
I receive from far away
safe home
and kiss your forehead
that beautiful shining space of you
that opens like a shell
worn by the sand and sea of your constancy
—Peg Edera, Love Is Deeper Than Distance
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