Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Make your face to shine upon your servant,
and in your loving-kindness save me. Psalm 31:16
Somehow in the candlelit church the girl’s face is illuminated. I notice her legs first, because she is subtly swinging them into the aisle. The space fills with the ancient stories and hymns of sacred tradition as the Advent liturgy moves through the evening.
Emboldened, the girl increases the arc of her swing, and then, with an artful look toward her parents, she lifts her three-year-old self on her arms and practically propels herself into the center of it all.
The singing of choir and congregation continues all around her, undisturbed by her display. Rather, her playfulness is gathered in, becoming part of the melody of praise as the story of salvation unfolds.
And then I see her face, joy radiating into the night, shining on any who will notice, and though I am far away, the face of Christ looks upon me and smiles.
Copyright Anne E. Kitch 2013
