“Strings of streetlights, even stop lights, blink a bright red, and green” goes the song… It always, always amazes me that no matter how hard life can become, at this time of year we see strings and strings of streetlights and houselights.....

Trafficking? Is that a Christmas-y topic? Seems it might be. A dad was desperate to marry off his three darling daughters for whom he had no dowries to entice appropriate spouses.

In the liturgy for the Third Sunday of Advent, we hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah: Strengthen the hands that are feeble, Make firm the knees that are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!

This reading from the liturgy of Monday, Dec. 5 (Isaiah 35: 1-10) is both comfort and challenge as we “wait in joyful hope” this Advent season.  Isaiah paints a picture of an arid steppe blooming with abundant flowers and the exiled Jewish people singing and rejoicing.