AS EACH YEAR draws to a close, there is often a frenzy of activity. There are holiday parties and Christmas programs to attend. Presents to wrap. Cards to sign. At work, there are year-end tasks to clear. At home, there are rituals of tree trimming and decorating; baking and gift-giving. There are preparations for travel or to receive guests.
It can be almost ironic to hear the words to that most classic of Christmas carols, “Silent night, holy night. All is calm …”
But it is in the stillness that Christ breaks through to us and to this world. It is in the quiet places that we can contemplate the miracle of his birth and the majesty of the one who lived on high yet presented himself to us in the lowliest of circumstances.
We share with you some thoughts from our SPU campus — meditations of professors Scott Cairns and Rick Steele; the thoughts of Dominique Gilliard, who was a guest speaker on campus this fall; and past reflections of alumnus Eugene Peterson ’54, who went to his glory in 2018. When you link to each week’s meditation, you’ll also find a selected song of the season performed by SPU vocal and orchestra ensembles from a past Sacred Sounds of Christmas concert.
These Advent meditations provide a weekly opportunity to pause and consider how Christ can still break through the noise and clutter to speak to us today though nature, through the mess of humanity, through loss, and through solidarity and longing for a more just world.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
