1st Thursday in Advent

1st week in Advent -- Thursday                            Isaiah 9:2-3

                                 Long, Dark Night

"Did you see that star,"

the crazy woman said

in her 3:00 a.m. phone call.

"Do you think Jesus is coming back tonight?"

Crazy.

Out of touch.

Inappropriate.

Yet all she was seeking

was what we all seek:

Peace in the dark corners of life.

The darkness can be so frightening,

so overwhelming,

so all-consuming.

And Isaiah's description

is as accurate today

as it was centuries ago . . .

"The people who walked in darkness."

Yet Isaiah's words --

God's word --

did not end,

does not end.

Hope is promised,

God will come.

The crazy woman was right

to search the night skies

and to reach out.

O God:

We long to reach out, to search for hope in the darkness that seems to surround us.  Give us sure signs of hope in the every day things that we see, and in the quiet hours of night that we experience; in Jesus' name.  Amen.