An Illuminated Joy

Video: Jan Richardson (art and animation) and Garrison Doles (singer songwriter)

Christmas Eve

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2.19)

Over the previous nine months, Mary has entertained an archangel, said yes to becoming the mother of the Son of God, made the journey to visit Elizabeth, and lifted up a song of hope that has endured across centuries. She has waited with Elizabeth, made the journey back home, and traveled with her husband Joseph to Bethlehem to be included in the registration ordered by Emperor Augustus. She has labored to give birth to her son, enfolded him in strips of cloth, laid him in a manger, and welcomed those who came to marvel at what had come to pass.

Luke tells us that in response to their amazement, Mary treasures these words in her heart. Luke’s description conjures an image of a woman who, amid the tumult of angels and signs and visitors and miracles, holds all these happenings in a place of stillness. Among the memories of nine months of adventures she never could have imagined, Mary embodies a sense of wonder that is quiet and deep and wise.

Words: Jan Richardson at The Advent Door: “Revisiting The Secret Room”

Image: “Mary Treasures All These Words” by C. Robin Janning

Advent, Day 23

“Burning/all night long/Burning/at the gates of dawn
Singing/near and far/Singing/to raise the morning star.”

Words: Bruce Cockburn

Image: Benedictus by Jan Richardson

Advent, Day 18

"... Call it
the thin, thin place
where the veil
gives way.

Or call it this:
the path we make
when we go deep
and deeper still
into the dark
and look behind to see
the way has been lit
by our rejoicing."

Words and Image: From As on a Day of Festival by Jan Richardson

Advent, Day 7

You hollow us out, God,
so that we may carry you,
and you endlessly fill us
only to be emptied again.

Make smooth our inward spaces
and sturdy,
that we may hold you
with less resistance
and bear you
with deeper grace.

Words: from Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas by Jan L. Richardson (Cleveland: United Church Press, 1998)

Image: Psalm 46:10 by Linda Witte Henke

Advent, Day 5

"Whenever we offer a blessing, it is an intimate act that acknowledges that we are connected with another and that we desire the wholeness of that person—or that place, or whatever it is that we are blessing. A blessing is a reminder that God has not designed us to live by our own devices: we are bound together with one another and with all of creation, and we are called to work for the well-being of those whom we share this life with—and those who will follow. Offering a blessing is an act of profound hope. In blessing one another, we recognize and ally ourselves with the presence of God who is ever working to bring about the healing of the world."

Words: Jan Richardson in A Path of Blessing at The Advent Door

Image: Night and Day We Pray for You by Jan Richardson