A Circle in the Dark

Daily Meditations for Advent

Rachael A. Keefe

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9781610973397
  9781498260220
• eBook ISBN:
  9781630877750
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This book invites the reader to experience Advent as a spiritual journey to Bethlehem, a journey from darkness to light. Each week explores the traditional themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love that are present throughout the season. It begins on the first Sunday of Advent inviting the reader to be open to new or unexpected encounters with God, to find the mystery and wonder so often missed in day-to-day life. Each daily meditation offers a poetic, insightful reflection on scripture verses that voice the human spirit's longing for the Holy Spirit--the continued struggle to find light in a dark world. As the journey unfolds, the reader will walk through the cold bleakness of the winter season and the bitterness of despair, guided by the hope, peace, joy, and love promised in Christ, fulfilled on Christmas Day. Those familiar with biblical texts will be drawn in by the vivid images and relevant messages of the poems. Similarly, those for whom biblical texts are less well known will find intriguing and accessible images that might prompt a desire to learn more. Laypeople and clergy across denominations will find comfort and challenge in the familiar being made new should they accept the invitation to seek the Light of Christ on the long, often difficult, journey to Bethlehem.

Week Four

Love

“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfastlove shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

—Isaiah 54:10

Sunday

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.

—Isaiah 42:1–12

Breath to the People

Breathe again on Your people

and fill us with a new spirit.

We are caught in former things–

a covenant frequently forgotten

nations dimmed by war

eyes blinded by fear

prisoners held in ignorance–

we are in need of a new song.

I long for the justice of Your breath

and the strength of Your promise.

I grow weary of waiting day after day—

the desert is at war with the mountains

the villages and the coastlands tremble

while fear darkens the land

making sister and brother appear other—

my voice breaks under the weight.

Let us be the delight of Your soul

following the One who establishes integrity.

In the light of Your love–

a covenant brings life

nations learn peace

eyes open hearts

captives find release–

Your people sing a new song.

Breathe again on Your people

and fill us with a new spirit.

Monday

O Lord, o...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Prologue
• Week One: Hope
• Week Two: Peace
• Week Three: Joy
• Week Four: Love
• Christmas Day
• Reader’s Guide