Thursday of the Third Week of Advent. The readings seem to indicate today that God abandoned us at some point, He "hid" his face from us. The story is, like many other examples, is supposed to be read as a metaphor, that here means something far more inspirational. (Preached on Thursday, December 15, 2011, 12:15pm, St. Malachy's Church, 49th and Broadway, Times Square, New York City)