Be Still

Happy Advent, friends. So yesterday morning when I got up to write God told me, "be still." I said, "it's 3:30 in the morning, God, I am so still I'm almost dead!" Then He said, "Shhh. Be quiet." I kept hearing these same words throughout the day and what I think God is calling me personally to be silent this Advent. In other words, I will not be writing gospel reflections or posting to my blog for the season of Advent. He wants me to just sit and listen this season and it resonated so strongly with me all day, that I cannot deny it. I just wanted to give you that heads up so that y'all don't think I disappeared into thin air. I'll be back in full swing come Christmas and honestly, I can't wait, which is probably the right disposition for me to enter into Advent. I can't wait to continue sharing the gospel and to co-create with the Holy Spirit, but for now, I will be still and speechless. God is good. 

An update: Auntie passed peacefully on Wednesday morning. I came to work an hour after she had passed and was able to sit with her for a while for one final aloha. My friend Letty and I sang with her on Friday and she actually sang with us. When she heard the song "Aloha Oe" I felt her relax as if she just needed permission. Her son and daughter told me that over the weekend she was pretty much unconscious, but they had Hawaiian music playing and at one point her hands went in the air and she danced the hula as she slept. I cannot imagine anything more beautiful. I know she is dancing for Jesus now. Until we meet again, Auntie, aloha. 

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 179

Reading 1 IS 29:17-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.

Responsorial Psalm PS 27:1, 4, 13-14

R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Alleluia 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
"Son of David, have pity on us!" 
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
"Do you believe that I can do this?" 
"Yes, Lord," they said to him. 
Then he touched their eyes and said,
"Let it be done for you according to your faith." 
And their eyes were opened. 
Jesus warned them sternly,
"See that no one knows about this." 
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.