Drop down dew you heavens from above, and let the clouds rain down the just one. let the earth be opened and bring forth a savour. IS 45:8

We teeter at the edge of Christmas, and we wait. 

 

As I write this, I wait in Courtesy Chevrolet waiting room. I am sandwiched between a blaring TV and local commercials being piped in by the dealer. The others waiting look like they are in a daze, frazzled, worn out.

And yet today the Advent prophet Isaiah cals us out of waiting. Calls us out of day dreaming...in a sense grounds us.

"Let THE EARTH BE OPENED, and bring forth a Savour....

Jesus will be of the EARTH--EARTHY!

His waiting room, where he has waited for 9 months is the earthy womb of Mary.

And that womb was nourished by the grapes, bread, and milk of the fertile fields of Galilee.

Thus we all come from holy ground!

And to care for our earth, to preserve it is holy work,

Also in today's Gospel, Stands Joseph. He too is earthy. His hands are rough from handling wood and pounding nails. 

"Joseph...do not be afraid."says the angel.

And Joseph may have had good reason to be afraid, to cower, to withdraw. 

Instead, he entered into the waiting room with Mary. 

And there by the work of his hands, he provided the bread, figs, grapes from the fertile earth that would nourish the child to be born.

And so in the waning hours of Advent, we stand with Joseph: "Oh, good carpenter, good Spouse, good father, clear our minds of weariness, distractions, inner anxieties. May we walk with you toward the Christmas light.

With you, may we stand on Holy Ground in wonder once again!"

Breakfast Question: Are you aware that Pope Francis has added Joseph's name to the canon of the mass?

Personal Reflection: What woud I say to Joseph, if I stood beside him at the crib?