Isaiah
35:1-2: The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness
will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom.
The King James says “rose” rather than “crocus.” When I
was in Glee Club at boarding school, we learned Michael Praetorius’ piece, “Lo,
How a Rose ere Blooming”. Then Love
Story came out with Ali McGraw conducting an acapella boys choir
singing the same piece. It introduced me
to this biblical text. Years later, we had a craft at Advent Adventure – a
disc, a pipe cleaner stem, crepe paper rose and quilt batting snow. The picture of one flower in winter or one
flower in a vast desert – this is my picture of the kind of joy God brings into
the desert seasons of our lives. The
incarnation. The second coming and so many small serendipities of joy. This Advent, remember. It might be a kind word, a blossom, a sunset,
a baby’s burst of joy.
PRAYER
Thank you, O God, for the way joy pierces the desert.
Rev. Marnie Silbert, Associate Pastor, Newlonsburg Presbyterian Church,
Murrysville
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