Jeff Hampton – Page 97 – Jeff Hampton, Writer

December 15, 2020

Holy Noise

Third Tuesday of Advent

Sunday evening I turned on the TV and paused on a channel a moment to see who was playing football. It all looked pretty normal: the teams were playing hard, the refs were whistling, the sidelines were busy and through it all was that constant, steady buzz of the crowd that you always hear. But when they switched to an on-field camera and looked upward, the seats were empty; there was not a person in sight. From that perspective, it didn’t look real, and when they switched back to the regular camera, it no longer sounded real because my brain knew it wasn’t.

December 14, 2020December 14, 2020

Keeping Silence

Third Monday of Advent

Originally posted Thursday, February 2, 2012

Yesterday in church we sang the carol “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” and my eyes and ears were drawn once more to the words “keep silence.”

December 13, 2020

Rejoice in Healing

Third Sunday of Advent

From Wilshire Advent Devotions 2018

There’s no denying it: Not everyone gets healed from every illness, injury or disease. We can do everything the doctors prescribe, we can pray earnestly and bolster ourselves with prayer chains and warriors, and yet there are no guarantees. Some will be healed, and some will not be healed. Some will leave the hospital and go on to live long sunny lives, while others will be sent home with a few precious days left on the calendar or a lifetime of obstacles to endure. That’s the hard truth, and it hurts. It may make us ask, “What’s the point?”