Author: Jeff Hampton

First Monday of Advent

Originally posted Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Here we are once again in the rush of the holidays. Thanksgiving was Thursday, and Advent began Sunday. In between was the retail madness of Black Friday, and then there was Saturday.

I googled this particular Saturday and from what I can tell it hasn’t been branded yet. Liturgically, it is the last day of Ordinary Time – the period stretching from Pentecost to Advent – but there are no special observances that go with it. For many people it continued the Thanksgiving celebration, and for others it was just Day 2 of Black Friday with more shopping and the related traffic and hassles. You likely saw some people out in the yard or on the roof hanging lights and putting out decorations.

Continue reading “Bridging the Seasons”

First Sunday of Advent

From Wilshire Advent Devotions 2015

Hope is a precarious proposition. The moment we place our hope in something or someone, we set ourselves up for disappointment. That is partly because of our mistaken understanding of the word. We throw “hope” around like a blessing or a prayer – “Hope it goes well” or “Hope you have a great time” or “Hope you find what you’re looking for” – but the word is really about “maybe” and “possibly” and “there’s a chance” if everything goes right.

Continue reading “Hope”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Thanksgiving week is here and it’s like walking out on the beach and seeing a big whale spread across the sand. We know it’s there because it’s so big, and we want to say something about it but it’s so obvious to everyone that we doubt we could say anything new or interesting about it. Especially in a year like this, when we have so much to be disappointed in and sad about. Like with that whale, there’s a heavy odor that has overwhelmed just about everything this year. 

Continue reading “A Whale of a Year”