The Lord counts the number of the stars
and calls them all by their names.
Psalm 147:4
A lighted window across the way. A street light flickering through bare tree branches. A porch lamp reflected in the wet street. The candle flame near at hand. These punctuate the urban darkness that will soon give way to dawn.
And far above, out of sight, centuries of light continually being dispersed by innumerable stars. I know they are there, these balls of gas and flame, witnesses of a vastness that I can maybe just contemplate.
And God not only counts them but knows their names. I imagine the Holy One on an early morning jaunt through the heavenly expanse calling out to each brightness as she passes by, and I can almost hear them singing in response.
The day brightens as the light of God outshines that human-made. We are in the beginning. I raise my face to the illumination and embark on the Advent adventure.
