Second Friday – Christmas Fluff

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 9, 2016
Posted in: Advent 2016, devotional life, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

 

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I have on my desktop screen a beautiful picture of the Nüremburg Christkindlesmarkt. It was taken from a window several stories above the marketplace and on an overcast, icy day. The rooftops of the little booths are powdered with snow. The gloom of twilight is descending in a shimmery deep-blue haze, but the bright lights in all the vendor tents are like the diamonds on the lapis of a Faberge’ egg. The glow that shines on the church spires and from apartment windows and business store fronts make a halo around the scene. It looks cold, freezy-chilly-frosty cold, but I want to be there once again, strolling with the other shoppers, filling my basket with handmade ornaments and packages of fragrant Lebkuchen and chocolates and candles for the big day.

 

It’s all fluff. We know it is. Everyone is drinking Gluhwein or hot chocolate, ooh-ing and aah-ing over the craftsmanship at certain stops along the way, but it’s all Christmas fluff. The children always want the silliest, the most ill-fitting or likely-to-be-broken-before-we-get-home items, but we wouldn’t miss this.

 

Where’s the joy?  It’s fluffy. It isn’t Christmas …  Is it?

 

Perhaps there is something about the very fluffiness of Christmas that speaks to our hearts of something very real and very important. We hear those good sermons about how poor Mary and Joseph were, how lowly Jesus’ birthplace. True, being born in a stable is unusual and unfortunate as we see it, but for all we know, Joseph might have been a man of means; probably the village carpenter made fairly good money. Perhaps he was well off!  There just wasn’t any room in the inn!

 

Still, an inauspicious beginning for the Savior of the world, except for the angels filling the skies, singing the glories of the Father! And the star that turned on to announce the day. And the Magi, traveling at great expense to find Him and worship Him. And the shepherds! Lowly again, certainly … but when a company of men leave their livelihood to find and pay homage to a baby, lying in a hay manger, then depart, astonished and full of all they saw and heard …. Well, let’s say this. God is the greatest storyteller, ever. First He makes the story come true, then He tells it. He knew what we would make of it … and even plastic nativity figures retell the account world-over.

 

Back to Nüremburg. Do all these vendors and trinkets cheapen that night, this season? Not to mention the trees in our homes and the wreaths on our doors and the candles on our tables and even the fluffy gifts in the sparkly paper, waiting to be unwrapped!

 

This is what I think. If I rejoice in my Savior and my salvation every day that I live, my celebration can be Advent chains made from sheets of red and green construction paper (and it has been,) or sugar cookies for a school party, or fancy soaps to a nursing home; it can be reindeers, snowmen, tinsel, and a star on top, because this is a party, and for the pure in heart, it’s hard to make this one not-holy. There is even an enormous Christmas tree in mostly Arab Nazareth. This party is started! None of this is the fullness of joy, but we have that already.

 

Even before we did, Christmas warmed our hearts. This is the fluff that expresses that fullness, even the over-the-top spectacle of that otherwise quiet night. I really like it.

 

 

 

Second Thursday – Working Underground

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 8, 2016
Posted in: Advent 2016, devotional life, personal devotion. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

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But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God. (John 3:21)

 

 

When our deeds are seen to have been formed in light, we are often showcased in pretty thick darkness.

 

Joseph in a pit and in a dungeon. David hiding in caves. Paul and Barnabus shackled in prison. Gideon threshing wheat inside a winepress. Zechariah unable to speak. Daniel unable to leave. Mary unable to save her reputation. Job bereft of everything except his misunderstanding wife.

 

There have always been lots of things going on in the light that remain invisible to others, only seen by angels that dwell in unapproachable light – and by demons that are chained to darkness.  They, the devils, wonder and tremble to see the secret deeds we do, acts of kindness and generosity and friendship that pierce the blackest oppressions but never get neon billing on a JumboTron. Some men, women, and even children, have become so obnoxious in their loneliness and so wretched in their fears that nobody wants to be around them, but with light comes vision, and you and I take time with those troubled souls, we listen to them, and even enjoy getting to know them. We love them, not just to bring them to the Lord, but because He loves them already.

 

Initially, and perhaps for a long while, nobody does seem to see what’s going on, and many wouldn’t care anyway. But as time marches on, what has been wrought in God and carried out through faith and love, begins to shine. How many times have we heard the testimony of someone who was steeped in darkness, but one soul, one grandmother or one friend or a boss or a neighbor, one person would not be intimated by the absence of light. No one noticed, no one paid any heed, until life turned on, like the star in the Bethlehem sky, shining not over but within one soul, formerly lost beyond human help . . . but not beyond the efficacy of prayer and hope.

 

My prayer, as I light my Advent candles today, is that you and I will not grow faint in the dark, for darkness will not overpower the Light by which we live and love, if we will persevere.

 

But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.   ( John 3:21 )

 

  Lord God, grant we pray that we may persevere in love.  Those who have gone before us have set an example of Your unfailing faithfulness, and in them we see what can happen when anyone chooses to trust You absolutely.  We choose to be numbered among them, in Christ Jesus and for His sake.  Amen.

 

Three bees wax candles found at the Alamannic gravyard of Oberflacht, Seitingen-Oberflacht, Kreis Tuttlingen, Germany. Dating to 6th or beginning 7th century A.D. They are the oldest survived bees wax candles north of the Alps.

 

Bullenwachter, by permission

Second Wednesday – Disspelling Darkness

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 7, 2016
Posted in: Advent 2016, devotional life, personal devotion, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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One of the challenges of good blogging is to keep all entries short, pithy, and appealing. Quite an undertaking, when we deal with subjects as vast as eternity and as important as the life and health of our souls!   How about this excerpt from Ephesians 5  …

 

. . . once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light . . . 

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 

. . . when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.   Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” (Ephesians 5:6-14)

 

 

Because, truly, our goal is to make this a season of watching and prayerfully anticipating the coming of the Lord, the celebration of His birth and, more emphatically, of His reign in us, we have to address the darkness as well as glorying in His light.

 

Let’s pray and rejoice, with the striking of the match each evening, that we may reprove every dark place that remains in us, be it as small as a mustard seed. Oh, yes, faith is the seed of which the Lord spoke, but seeds of regret, bitterness, fear, dissipation, and unbelief grow, too, unless they are uprooted. If even one of our “besetting sins” were to be choked out, even now, our holidays – all our days – would brighten.

 

We aren’t afraid of what we see in our hearts, for the debt of our sin is paid and newness of life has come. We fear God, and we put off the “old man” for the sake of the life of Christ. We name the dark corners and call them what they are – self-pity, unforgiveness, selfishness, greed . . . nothing, nothing that the Lord hasn’t dispelled before.

 

As we settle into each Advent day or evening, we don’t hide our faults in the gaiety or the rush of the season. We just honestly say, we surrender our darkness and repent of our pride. We will have done with sin, the very sin we know we’ve sheltered, and we will walk in light.

 

 

“But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from sin.” (1 John 1:7)

 

 

This is walking with God. This is bearing the fruit of light. This is going out to meet the Bridegroom, our wicks trimmed, and taking the fullness of His Spirit with us!

 

There … how’d I do? Great big subject … one small encouragement.

 

 

Lamp lighter in Brest, Belarus

Yogi555, by permission

Second Tuesday – Out of Darkness

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 6, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

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But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

 

My granddaughter, when she was a little girl, used to go walking with me through neighborhoods in our little town, looking for houses that are alive.

 

Perhaps you know what I mean. Typically, up and down street after street, homes look so dead these days. Some are run-down and some are immaculate and showy, but so many are lifeless. We walk up one street and down the next, sometimes for an hour or more, looking for homes that say, “Come in! Welcome! People live here – real living breathing people – and there’s life inside!”

 

What makes a home look alive? Virtually every time, almost without exception, it is the presence of light. A lamp on a table in front of the living room window. A ceiling light, a small chandelier, visible through the front rooms, sparkling over the dining table behind. A porch light left on, solar lamps lining the front walk … something … anything glowing.

 

I once took a bus trip across country, and out of a dense, dark fog, just as the sun had dipped below the horizon, we rolled into a little town in Ohio. It was a hamlet, really, but every home we passed had a candle in every window. I sat up. I rubbed my eyes. Had I died and gone to Greyhound heaven? I could scarcely believe what I was seeing. The night would have been dreary and almost eerie, but for the candle glow in those hundreds of windows. The bus made a quick stop and took off again, and I wondered where I was and what was the secret of the lighted windows.

 

Far from dreary, it was a magical sight. I later learned that many small towns back east do the same, that it speaks of a day and time when houses were far apart and farmers made sure that lost or lonely travelers could find a safe place to shelter in the night.

 

Today’s Advent consideration sparkles before us. A light in each window would be a lovely tradition during this season, but light in our eyes, the windows to our souls, will make people sit up and look again. If we are full of peace and goodwill and truth, if our hearts are warmed and glowing with the love of God, those we meet will rub their eyes and wonder where they are and wish they were in on the secret.

 

There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle” – Robert Alden

 

Father, in Your light we see light, and we ask that the love invested in us might light a path to peace, to mercy, to truth, and happiness for others this Advent season. We know we will have to exchange joy and love for agitations and burdens, but we are willing, and we thank You for the privilege.

Second Monday – Our Calling Card

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 5, 2016
Posted in: Advent 2016, devotional life, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

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Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.

While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them. ( John 12:35-36 )

 

 

What was it about Mary? How was it that she was predisposed to obey the Lord?  To another woman, the Angel might have been relating the impossible framed within the reprehensible, but Mary was not that woman, and it was to her that Gabriel was sent.

 

Here is light for today’s path, a great reality to celebrate as we ignite our Advent candle this day … There is no greater illumination for our souls than to answer “Yes, Lord” when He speaks or sends His Word.

 

Let us remember that the angel Gabriel’s “explanation” to Zechariah’s “how can I be sure” (Luke 1:11-20) was . . . I am Gabriel; I stand in the Presence of God!   Oh, I love that so much!   WHAT a calling card!

 

The oil that saturates the wick of our brightness is the glory of a “willing heart to sustain us” (Psalm 51:12.)  Mary was willing to obey, and when the Lord’s messenger came (quite obviously the Lord’s messenger, to Mary’s willing heart, though more than a little breath-taking in appearance), she asked “How?” not “How can I know for sure?”

 

Let us commit ourselves to obedience this day and in this season. Jesus told us that the one who will obey shall know. (John 7:17) It seldom works the other way around with God. Let us see how often we can answer the promptings of God with these words, “Yes, Lord!” After all, how can we know what can only be seen through faith in the first place? The Lord is always doing a new thing, constantly, and nobody has ever seen it before.

 

We can begin by saying, “Yes, Lord, we will answer Yes!” and oh!, that will result in a merry … Mary … spirit this Advent tide and beyond.

 

Lord God, the Light which is Christ is the radiance of our souls. Forgive our fear of obedience. Forgive all the ways we have held tight to our failures, especially those times when we thought we were doing right and everything seemed to turn out wrong. Forgive the times when we quit and gave up too soon, and forgive those times when we just didn’t know You or wait upon You in the first place! Almighty God! Your ways are high, but they can be known by those who seek You.

             We can obey, O Lord, because we can love. We choose to walk in that light, as Jesus is in the Light.   We are Your people, who stand in Your Presence, and we can obey You.

 

detail of the Anunciation

Andres del Sarto, 1528

Wikipedia, public domain

Second Sunday – The Bethlehem Candle

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 4, 2016
Posted in: Advent 2016, devotional life, personal devotion, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

 

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Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe thy righteous ordinances. (Psalms 119:105-106)

 

 

The sounding joy of Advent is light! … the Light that is coming into the world. It is, for seasoned Advent celebrants, an amazing juxtaposition of glory in Him Who Was and Is and Is to Come.

 

 

I love light. I love it! Sunrises that paint the world from first light, fireworks that cause grown-ups to ooh and ahh, thousands of “fairy lights” illuminating the shop windows and the town square and the village Christmas trees in European cities, a single candle in a window, and glow sticks and fluorescent necklaces on children at amusement parks.

 

 

Rainbows, prisms, a well-lit portrait in oils, and a diamond when it catches the light and sends it back in radiance into the world … I love light. My favorite part of darkness is the way it showcases light.

 

 

Today we light the Bethlehem Candle of Advent. The very word … Bethlehem . . . is an illustration to us, and the scene in the stable that night has been illumined by artists for thousands of years. “He is come! He is come! Emmanuel, God with us! The Light of God is come to us!” The cave is always dark, but the Child in the manger … always bright.

 

Oh, we do lament the darkness in the world around us!  It’s so intense these days. In truth, darkness has always been dark, but our Father tells us to believe in the One He sent. When we do, there is no light, no laser light, not the Aurora Borealis, there is no star or sun that can hold a candle to the Light that comes to us. The Living Word is our lamp, and He radiates from our souls until we shine like torches lighting a boulevard to Bethlehem for those around us. We travel on, no matter the darkness, like millions of luminaries marking the road to the New Jerusalem.

 

 

Shine on, my dear ones. Shine this Advent season. When a person is merry and bright … when all within is calm and bright … the darkness must flee. The Light of the World shines, shines in us, and the piercing glow of humility, compassion, faith in God, and unfeigned love are as a thousand suns in us.

 

Lord God, we shine in You, we shine for You,  …  because You shine through us.  Oh, grant us grace and faith to shine because it is dark and You are Light, not because we sparkle.  Let us light the darkness which we would otherwise fear.  We trust that in Your Son, we are marking a path from death to life, and how we thank You for the privilege of maintaining hope and showing Your love in the world around us.

 

 

Manhattan as seen from space

photo courtesy of

NASA – public domain, government photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Saturday – Wait Wisely

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 4, 2016
Posted in: Advent 2016, devotional life, personal devotion, the image of Christ, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land for ever, the shoot of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it. 

 

Isaiah 60:19-22

 

 

Waiting… Waiting…

 

 

Advent is a season of watchful waiting and anticipation, but we do well to make certain that we know what it is that we await. We must be certain that we do not spend our lives waiting for what is now here at hand.

 

 

Our brightness is now. Jesus is not scheduled to become our light, later! Goodness, we would be in the most serious trouble if His Spirit was planning to come to us … in time … eventually. No! It is by the Holy Spirit of God that we are born again to newness of life.

 

 

If we were to leave this planet before the New Year, it would be that same Spirit who would take us with Him, one with Him, in His return to the Presence of God in heaven.  It is that Holy Spirit, that nearness and that Life of God, by which Jesus assured us that He would, following His death and resurrection, come again to us in this life, here, and now, so that we may live. (John 14:15-18)

 

By His Word and His redemption, our sun will no more go down … what an Advent celebration that is!

 

                       

 

photo by Andre’ Karwath

Wikicommons, by permission

December 2 – The Righteous Branch

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 2, 2016
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“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring forth for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

Jeremiah 33:14-16

 

One of the chief glories of Advent is the opportunity it affords us to see how perfectly ready was the hour when Jesus came to us in the flesh.   When we read the prophecies that were fulfilled at His birth, as we see how the Father brought innumerable avenues into convergence in a stable in Bethlehem, it is astonishing to us in its fulness.

We cannot see the clock ticking down, ready to strike the hour, but we know that it did, even to the appearance of a star that turned on to attract the attention of the Magi and give them time to travel and reach the Child and His family some time later, and just at precisely the right moment.  With their arrival and their conference with Herod, the horrors came too, exactly as foretold.

Thousands of years pressing in upon one another, that the cry of the human heart might be answered. Few mortals have ever even known to ask for what we need most … we need to be “right with God.” In typical human-ness, men had been looking under every superstitious stone for a way to effect personal cleanness and freedom from guilt and to ward off evil, but to no avail. There is no righteousness, there is no cleanness apart from faith in the Promised One, the Root of David.   When we think of it, how could we imagine that God would splinter His person to fit into the doctrines of men. Please, no! He must then be Who He Is, One God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Almighty God, Majesty, Lord of All.  Merciful God.  Righteous One.  How could we hope in less than all that He is? That would, amazingly, be a false hope.

The very search away from God demonstrates how deeply we need His righteousness alone. May all the paths of our Christmas season and all those of the year ahead lead us into the perfections of Christ, into His faith and His love and His wisdom and His holiness. Further, we may rejoice that the time is right, just now, for each of singly and all of us together, if we will believe. This is the only time we have, and now is the hope of life eternal and of confidence in the hour of our death.

         Lord God, save us to the uttermost, that we may dwell securely in our souls as well as in our holiday homes. Save us to hope in you, for by your Word, those who hope will never be put to shame. Oh Righteous Branch, that we would bear fruit that remains, as foretold.  Amen.

 

a barley root

Mark Talbot, by permission, Wikipedia

First Thursday – Lighting the World

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on December 1, 2016
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God;

all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John1:1-5

  

Rich or poor in America, most of us string lights and sit around the tree during the holidays, perhaps a Christmas movie on television or carols playing on the stereo, glad for the season. Still, is there even one of us who cannot immediately call to mind someone we know, perhaps someone we love, in trouble, sick or grief-stricken, in prison or just in a dark place, emotionally?   We all know people who are living in darkness so deep that lasers and night vision goggles won’t help at all. Some of us remember first-hand what it was like to be there. With the night comes cold in the desert, and we remember that, too.

 

Cold, dark, lonely lives, in the midst of so much activity, sometimes in the lap of luxury, and too often hidden behind phony smiles or stand-offish natures. Souls saturated with that horrid feeling that nobody really knows who you are or where you are, and that nobody really cares.

 

That’s the whisper that darkness brings.

 

Light came into the world in Christ Jesus, but all was not merry or bright then, either. His job was not to make an eternal Christmas, but to shine in the darkness, and so is ours. That is our celebration during Advent. Light shines in the darkness, and light shines in us, not for display but to give light, to dispel darkness, that by our love toward others, our prayers for them, our generosity, forgiveness, our help and our hope, they may be warmed to the Gospel of Christ.

 

May God grant that the splendor of joy and the brilliant love of God will shine through us, with or without padded wallets, even if all that is seen is an enduring patience and a gentle heart.

 

Give us this gift this Christmas, O Lord, that we may bring our joy and the bounty of Christ Jesus into the lives of those around us.  Help us to take advantage of opportunities, especially those unique to the season, help us to care, and grant that we can fully enjoy our own Advent and Christmas all the more fully because we are finding ways to shine in the lives of those around us.  Amen.

 

The Ghost of Christmas Present

John Leech, public domain, (100 years beyond death of the artist)

SaveSave

First Wednesday – Something’s Gotta Give!

Posted by Cor Unum Abbey on November 30, 2016
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scones_cream_jam

For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.

(Galatians 5:5)

Here in the Abbey, we have learned a little bit about watching and waiting. Perhaps the most important lesson we have in stock could be summarized in this: we just do it, and in the doing, something else has to give. While that may not sound too inviting, we have found that most of us have things ready to be sloughed off, anyway!

There is, moreover, a secret to be shared. At times, two things can become one. For instance, a walk in the woods is great exercise and can become a full hour of thanksgiving, with only the birds and badgers to hear what the Lord is hearing as we walk along together.

Many of us learned years ago, long before we turned toward a monastic vocation, that an hour with a restless infant can be either resented or rewarded. Nursing and rocking a baby to sleep is the ideal opportunity for a short season of stillness and Adoration. As mentioned, something often must give way, and here let it be anxiety and entertainment for a few holy minutes. Some of us have grandchildren to coax and cuddle, but for the rest of us, we can take the time we used to take … it is still ours to devote. Remember how Sesame Street used to wake them up just as they were drifting off? So we turned it off, and we can do the same with the Home Shopping Network!

When the goal is Christ and the path is the love of His Presence, we find a way. Even during the bustling holiday months. Here are a few Advent opportunities for you. Some may surprise you.

Take Tea! … Each day during Advent, we schedule an afternoon tea, and we make it serve two purposes. We have a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon with one slice of a Christmas cake or a couple of cookies to savor. We plan on it, and while we don’t customarily fast during this season, it’s hard for monastics to give over all boundaries of discipline, so we make that little treat the only sweet of the day. We are especially careful not to eat between meals (that is stock practice in the Abbey,) not to sample all the baking that goes on and not to allow other treats, with the result that our Advent Tea becomes an especially welcome diversion. With Christmas music on the stereo and the tree lights sparkling, we allow half an hour to sit in silence at the table with the Lord we love. This is also one of the best times available for the daily Advent reading.

Trim the Tree … every day during Advent! Besides the store of ornaments that have pride of place every year when decorations come out, keep a special box of D.L.F. (Dear Little Friends!) pieces, each one representing some special person, perhaps a Desperate Little Friend, someone in trouble spiritually or emotionally or circumstantially, or just a dear and distant loved one, and take even just a couple of minutes out the day to pray for them, to bless them, to be thankful for them as their special ornament is added to the tree. Remember throughout the day in prayer and maybe even with a phone call or a note!

Seize the Holiday Moment … There are so many opportunities to turn this season into an unending orchestration of special, prayerful, worshipful events. As we said before, something has to give, but often it is no more than a single minute or two, not rushing headlong into the next bit of bustle. We can take the extra time to pray for those who send us Christmas cards. A few moments of prayer before we put their cards away will make a difference that no prayer at all can never make! We can pray and be deeply grateful for others as we wrap their gifts. It’s fun to find time alone, surrounded by ribbon and paper and gift tags, and pray out loud as we cut and snip and fold and fluff!

Beyond the Bell Ringers! … Those noisy neighbors, the ones that work on their cars at 1:00 in the morning and put their dogs out to bark at 5:00, the ones with weeds and trash and kids that spill over into your yard … if you have had to ask them to hold it down when they party into the night, if you have had to ask them to keep their children from stealing all the peaches off your tree, this is the time of year when a plate of cookies or a basket of brownies or a spray of mistletoe can be given in friendship and can pour oil on troubled waters. Pray and go! Bless them to the heavens, and then cross the street. Take a couple of chocolate snow men or a jump rope and a Hackie Sac for the children, make friends with unrighteous mammon (let your Christmas budget work for you!) and go ring their doorbell. It’s Christmas! It’s okay to be full of good cheer. At worst, your blessing will come back on you!

This is Advent displacement at its best! God bless you in it!