More children, women and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade. This comes from the web page of the International Justice Mission (IJM). This is not to denigrate the horror of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but to underlines the horror of the current situation. Check out IJM for more information. Photo credit: Andrew Mitchell via Flickr I am reminded of IJM's work this Advent because the word “captive” is common in the songs and readings in Advent: O … [Read more...] about Advent: Set the Captive Free
Advent
Advent: Walking in Deep Darkness
Are you scared of the dark? My two daughters don't like the dark. At night, when it is time for them to go up stairs to bed, they want lights on. And then they need a nightlight all night long. I think they will grow out of it – for now we leave the hallway light on for them. Photo credit: SkyD via Flickr Advent is a season for contemplating darkness. We remember the 450 years the people of Israel waited for God to act, and think about the “darkness” of this period when it seemed God's light had been withdrawn. … [Read more...] about Advent: Walking in Deep Darkness
Advent: Embarrassed by Hope?
You might have noticed that May 21 came and went without anything too unusual happening. Likewise October 22 dawned in similar fashion to October 21. These two days were predicted by Harold Camping to be the end of the world (it is not clear to me what he actually predicted for these two days, but you get the drift). Camping is not the first to make such predictions, nor will he be the last. And as the year 2012 approaches (the end of the Mayan calendar), there will be yet more conversation about the world coming to an … [Read more...] about Advent: Embarrassed by Hope?
Advent: Watching and Waiting
How do you deal with waiting? Are there things that you find especially hard to wait for? My car wouldn't start. I'm sitting in the grocery store parking lot, wanting to get home with the groceries I had just purchased, but when I turn the key, all I got was a clicking sound. So I called a car service, and they said they'd send somebody. The only problem – it would be an hour before they arrived. An hour?!? I had to sit in my car and wait for them to arrive. An hour hour never felt so long. Waiting – we … [Read more...] about Advent: Watching and Waiting
Why Bother with Advent?
Part of a series of occasional reflections over the weeks of Advent initially created with the hope of encouraging the reader to embrace keeping the season of Advent. Advent resources have continued to grow on the Emerging Scholars Network blog over the course of the past several years. Charlie Clauss' tireless labors through the Keeping Advent Facebook Group have been a blessing to many individuals and families seeking after the Lord during this busy time of year. ~ Tom Grosh IV, Associate Director, Emerging Scholars … [Read more...] about Why Bother with Advent?