The blank page. The white screen. The empty canvas. For all you souls considering contributing to the 2023 Advent Devotional – and wouldn’t be wonderful if we all did, even if we don’t submit – this is what you will be staring at. Blankness, blinding whiteness, emptiness.

So where to find your muse? Consider a Bible concordance. This is a reference material which lists words in the Bible and each place that word appears. One such version available in the Plymouth Church Library is the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. The words chosen to meditate upon this year are “waiting” and “watching.” Rev. Sheri Edwards Dalton got us off to a good start on Sunday, holding up the waiting and watching of Rizpah found in 2 Samuel 21:1–14. Hidden stories like this and not-often-quoted poetry can be difficult to find in the Bible but for the concordance. Not a slim volume, so come take a seat at Plymouth’s Welcome Table and spend some time exploring. Or skip the trip and the bulk and click here for a free, online Strong Concordance.

One more citing which is a favorite of mine once you have your quote and if it is in the Old Testament. Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible. You will also find it in the library. Also big, with three books and one of those 2 ½ “ thick, sitting down at the Welcome Table to browse is again a good idea. As one critic noted, sitting down with this translation is like having a biblical scholar at your elbow, chattingly explaining Hebrew words and clarifying confusing phrases.

And I can’t help but think that pulling your muse from the Hebrew Bible in this time of war isn’t a bad idea. As Rev. Dalton showed us in 2 Samuel, we are not spared the horror of war but also shown the power of waiting and watching for God’s light. -Melony Joyce