First Week of Advent, 2007

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Advent is the season when we prepare ourselves to receive God into our lives. The idea is that God might break into our mundane lives at any moment and change everything. The Word of God came without warning to the Hebrew prophets. The infant Jesus was born unexpectedly in an obscure location to insignificant peasants. After his resurrection, Our Lord repeatedly surprised the apostles by appearing in the flesh, in visions, and in the Word.

Are we ready for God to break into our own lives?

I was first asked to write a booklet of Advent ideas back in the 1970s. At the time I was a stay-at-home mom who had never written anything other than school assignments. My husband managed an independent bookstore. I certainly hadn't published anything, and I wasn't even sure what "Advent" was.

But the Worship Team at our home church in Cincinnati wanted to provide a resource for families to celebrate the coming of Christmas in the home, with Christ-centered ideas for decorating, gift-giving, dinner-time meditations and family devotions. My brain was overflowing with crafty ideas, and I knew how to put together a Bible study. Suddenly I was in charge of the entire project.
That little Advent booklet sold over a thousand copies at $2 each. That printing and then another sold out. The next year's edition was bigger. Then we did a booklet for Lent. We got requests from other churches and other organizations. The Cincinnati Post asked me to write a short newspaper series on Simple Living. Other job offers appeared. Suddenly I was A Professional Writer.

Because I was earning money, my husband was able to leave the bookstore and go to seminary. It did seem as though Someone was gently guiding our lives.

When the church first asked me to write that original Advent booklet, there were no lights flashing or trumpets announcing, "Listen to the Voice of God!" Quite the opposite. It was an ordinary request to do grunt work for a committee. But when I look back, it's absolutely clear that my entire writing career, and to some extent, David's decision to enter the ministry, stemmed from that volunteer writing task. Whether aware or not, I had heard God's voice and responded.

How will God call you? Will the Voice of God thunder with trumpets, or will God speak through the whisper of another church member as you Pass the Peace in the sanctuary? Will a Tuesday evening committee speak a message from heaven to you? Will you look back over the years of your life and wonder, "Was that the Voice of God?"

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls for you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for you servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3: 1-10

Prayer for December 2:
Blessed One, Creator of all the worlds and Lover of my deepest soul, I long to hear and follow your voice. You hold my life in your gentle hand - my memories from years long past, my hopes and fears for the future and my trembling heart at this moment. Help me to have eyes that see and ears that hear, so that I can know the confidence and peace of your Presence. For without your Presence, I am nothing, but in your Presence is all my hope, my life and my love. Grant, by your grace, the assurance that as I move through this season of anticipation, I walk each step with you. Amen.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Sometimes Christmas miracles arrive just a bit early.

Since this is the type of story in which names are changed to protect the not-entirely-innocent, I'll call my friend Joe. Joe is an intelligent, well-educated professional who happens to be mentally ill. He accepts and understands his illness and works hard to keep it under control. Nevertheless, in recent years the voices in Joe's head have proved stronger than medication or therapy, and gradually Joe has lost his job, his drivers' license and most of the trappings of his formerly affluent way of life. His world now revolves around two centers: his church and his beloved cat, Sugar.

When Joe needed to leave town for a few days, he left Sugar with his friend, Betty Sue. She did all the responsible things involved in cat-care, but, cats being what they are, Sugar somehow escaped the apartment and disappeared. Betty Sue phoned me, and we agreed that telling Joe would only spoil his trip, and decided to pray for Sugar to be found before Joe came home.

Betty Sue prayed and searched, emptying her closets and scouring the apartment grounds. She posted signs and checked at Joe's house, hoping the cat's homing instinct had taken her there. But the day of Joe's return arrived with no Sugar in sight.

For ordinary people, the loss of a cat is sad. For Joe, it was like losing an only child. Betty Sue helped him contact his doctor, she helped him find his medication, she helped him make wrenching phone calls; one to me. Finally, when he was calm, she watched him stumble out onto the lawn behind the apartments, calling Sugar's name.

Did I mention that Joe hears voices? He has learned to distinguish his hallucinations from reality, but in times of stress - such as losing a loved one - keeping a grasp on reality requires tremendous effort. So when a voice answered Joe's call, he didn't trust that voice right away.

Then Betty Sue joined Joe on the lawn, and listened carefully as he called Sugar once again. And she heard the voice, too. Within minutes, Joe was sitting on the grass, weeping for joy with Sugar in his arms.Thanks be to God! And all the Angels in Heaven sing!

But wait a minute. Couldn't God have prevented the cat's escape in the first place? Was it all that important for Joe to learn some obscure lesson through this awful experience? What would have happened if Betty Sue and I hadn't prayed for the cat's return? And what about Joe's mental illness? Wouldn't a loving God do something to restore Joe's mind?

I don't understand how God works. I don't know why sometimes prayer seems to open the way for miracles and at other times seems to bounce off a ceiling of stone. But at this moment, God worked through prayer and a little cat to restore joy to the life of a guy named Joe.

Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Luke15:4-6. The rest of the chapter is also illuminating.

Prayer for December 3:
Great Lord of all worlds, you hold spinning planets in your hand, yet you see every sparrow that falls. Surely you also care for the animals that dwell in our hearts: the cat, the hound, the chirping bird, the helpless creatures whose lives are tangled with our own. May we trust our selves to you, just as these small animals trust us. May we look to you for our every need, as they constantly look to us for daily food, for shelter, for discipline and for love. Far beyond all this, we know that in you we have unimaginable blessings, because you have not called us your creatures but have called us your children. Thanks be to you, O God, now and tomorrow and always, Amen.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Yesterday's meditation centered around a cat, so it's only fair that today's focus should be a dog. No one, I'm sure, will be surprised if the dog in question should be my highly trained and extraordinarily professional service dog, Serendipity. Those descriptive words must be italicized since we're not talking here about a certified Guide Dog for the blind, or a hero in hair who rescues children from burning buildings. No, this is Seri, the genuine Arizona Rez Dog, who can be depended upon to bring the newspaper in from the driveway as long as no lizard appears to distract her.

Just a few minutes ago, Seri sounded the UPS truck alert. With a glance out the window, I hushed her, since the truck had stopped next door. But she refused to be distracted, and continued to bark. Sure enough, the doorbell rang, and a package appeared on the porch. Shivering with joy, she dashed out, anchored her teeth into the cardboard carton, and hauled her prize inside.

As her reward for retrieving packages, Serendipity gets to tear the box to shreds, preferably after we remove the contents. This is followed by the game, "Pick it up."

The Advent lesson is found in the absolute delight this dog finds in the entire process. She loves watching the street from "her" front window. She thrills at the appearance of The Brown Truck. She protects her world by sounding the alert when the stranger approaches the door, and she fulfills her mission in life by seizing the package and bringing it to my hands. All this would be more than enough. But then duty turns to bliss as she rips the carton to shreds, then picks the pieces back up again, depositing them one by one in the trash. Life is good.

When was the last time you felt unmitigated joy? Does the simple act of doing your job fill your soul with bliss? Do you wait for your next assignment the way the dog waits for the UPS truck?

Now, I want to be careful not to draw the comparison too closely to our relationship with God. We are not God's pets or God's chattel (setting Psalms 23 and 100 aside for the moment.) Far more than pets, we are the children of God according to Galatians 3:26. But that should lift our joy to yet greater magnitudes.
". . . I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves." John 17:13b

When I watch toddlers going though the day, I see the same sort of excited delight in simple things. What happens to us when we turn into grownups? What prevents our experiencing unreserved joy in the ordinary tasks of daily life? Is it doubt? (A dog has no doubts about barking at trucks or retrieving boxes.) Is it our experience of disappointment? (The Brown Truck often drives by without stopping, but the dog will be equally excited the next time.) Or might it be fear of humiliation? (We often laugh at Seri, but she never seems to mind.)

Why not expect to be delighted? During the Advent Season, we might do well to anticipate the celebration of Our Lord's birth with some of the excitement so evident in small children and, yes, dogs. We might see whether we can discover a sense of joy in our work, and make a concentrated effort to anticipate each daily event with delight. Why not let go of past disappointments and decide that the next moment will be absolutely wonderful? This is Advent after all. It's the right time to be ready for unbridled joy.

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blesed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. Luke 12: 35-38

Prayer for December 4:
Blessed Keeper of our souls, you have filled our world with countless delights, but we hardly even notice. You have gifted us with endless riches, yet we think only of what is beyond our grasp. You deck the sky with stars and the earth with flowers, while we stare sullenly into dark corners. Forgive us! Shake us out of our dull sulks so that we finally see your wonders around us. Help us to let go of our doubts, our disappointments and our fear so that we can recognize you when you arrive at our door.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Last week it rained in the desert.

Living in Arizona, we don’t ordinarily plan for the possibility of rain. We worry more about whether it’s too hot to eat outside, or if Uncle Fred’s bald head will get sunburned if we sit on the patio than if the picnic will be rained out. Our rivers tend to be run with dust, and the floodplains are more prone to brush fires than flooding.

But when rain comes, everything changes.

When it rains, the roadside warnings about “don’t enter when flooded” should be taken seriously. Pity the fool who tries to impress his buddies by driving through a flooded wash. After achieving his 30 seconds of news coverage being rescued from his truck’s roof by helicopter, he’ll be further blessed with the bill for that rescue, augmented by Arizona’s hefty “idiot law” fine.

When it rains, the city planners send out engineers to our new retail sites to determine how many more runoff basins are needed.

When it rains, drivers in Phoenix spin their cars into telephone poles, and the highways back up for miles.

When it rains, the brown hills explode into color. Grass appears from the dust. Flowers billow across the valleys. Frogs appear as if from nowhere, and birds descend to enjoy the sudden abundance. Of course it’s a cliché as old as the Hebrew text: “I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert . . . ” Isaiah 43:21. But when those rivers gush forth in our own desert, who cares about being trite? It’s time to run outside and dance in the rain!

That’s what Advent is all about.

It’s about feeling dusty, dry and empty. It’s about feeling as though there’s no magic left in the world, and that God’s last word dried on the page a thousand years ago. It’s the feeling that if angels ever sang in Bethlehem, their voices were drowned out and silenced by ages of war and conflict.

Then without warning the skies open and God breaks into this world. And everything changes.

So get ready for rain.

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, "When it is evening you say, 'it will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." Matthew 16: 1-3

Prayer for December 5:
Loving God who sends the rain and snow, who sets the bounds of the oceans and draws the courses of rivers, send the rain of your Holy Spirit to renew our lives this Advent Season. Wash away the dust of our fatigue and boredom, and bring our shriveled souls to new life. We lift our hearts to you, expectant and waiting, confident that from your hand all good things come. Through Christ Jesus, the celebration of whose birth we anticipate with joy, Amen.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

My favorite rainy day activity is barely active at all. When rain washes the desert dust from my prickly pears and purple sage, I prefer to curl up in our biggest cozy chair with a rattling good mystery novel, and disappear until the sun comes out again.

Sadly, last week I had to abandon my personal comfort and travel north into the Verde Valley for the funeral of a dear friend. One of our clergy spouses, Arlene, had been called home to glory, and the desert rain reflected the sorrow in my heart.

Arlene had been one of the sparkling people. Small in form but large in action, she did not chafe in her role as Pastor’s Wife, but thrived. She found her niche and filled it happily. The world is better because Arlene shared it with us. Now suddenly she is gone.

The grey skies alternately drizzled and poured on the road from Phoenix to Cottonwood. Then as we crested a mountain path and began the long descent into the Verdi Valley, a rainbow appeared.

The word “awesome” is sorely overused these days. Kids declare their videogames “awesome.” Promoters proclaim every movie “awesome.” According to last night’s waiter, my menu selection was “awesome.” Nonetheless, Arlene’s rainbow arching over the red rock cliffs back-dropped by the storm clouds over the Verde Valley was genuinely awesome.

Of course, in one sense, the rainbow had nothing whatsoever to do with my friend Arlene or her death. It can be easily explained as the refraction of the light from the setting sun, a natural phenomenon dependant on the location of the viewer and the dispersion of water droplets. To pretend otherwise is nothing but magical thinking, delusionary romanticism, and ultimately, despair.

Yet our faith tells us something more. Without denying the explanation of refracted light, we know that is not the entire truth. Beauty will not be explained away. Wonder cannot be erased. And the absolute confidence of Emanuel, God-with-us, will carry us down every road, through every storm, and beyond every dark place of this world.

In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. Thanks be to God.

When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. Genesis 9:16

Oh Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens . . . When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Psalm 8:1-4

Prayer for December 6:

Great Lord and Master of all worlds, our lives are like tiny sparks in the blazing brilliance of your glory. Yet you come into our lives so gently, so graciously, filling our hearts with love and our futures with hope. During these days of preparation and celebration of your human birth, may we continually be confronted with the awesome wonder of your Presence. Amen.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Over the course of centuries, a lot of symbolism has adhered to the 4 weeks of Advent. The color of the season is purple, but could also be deep royal or midnight blue. Liturgically speaking, red and green are the colors of Christmas, and are more appropriately used in the days between Christmas Day and Epiphany on January 6.

The most familiar Advent symbol is the Advent wreath, a circle of 4 candles with a fifth candle in the center. The circle itself is rich with symbolism, representing endless eternity, eternal life or endless love. Before the Christian Era, the circle with 4 points was used in many cultures to represent the yearly cycle of 4 seasons, the world and 4 sacred elements, or the earth with its 4 cardinal directions. In the Advent wreath, the 4 candles represent the 4 Sundays of Advent. Three candles are purple (or deep blue) and one is pink, symbolizing light in the eastern sky foretelling the coming of the dawn, which in turn, suggests the approach of Christ’s Coming.

Another Advent symbol is a common broom indicating the need to prepare for Christ’s birth. Homes need to be swept and decorated, and the soul needs to open itself to new life in Christ.

In addition to representing the 4 Sundays of the season, Advent candles represent, respectively, Hope, Love, Joy and Peace as well as Prayer, Penance, Sacrifice and Good Works. Some churches light the pink candle on the third Sunday, called Gaudete Sunday, while others light it on the fourth Sunday, nearest to Christ’s birth.

The First Week of Advent is designated as “Prophets,” a time to read the Hebrew texts foretelling Christ’s coming and a time to reflect on the hope his 2^nd Coming. The main symbol of Advent’s First week is the scroll of prophesy.

The Second Week is “Bethlehem” week. The little town was also the hometown of the great King David, from whose lineage Jesus’ parents come. The Hebrew name “Bethlehem” translates as “House of Bread,” also pointing toward Jesus as the Bread of Life. Pretzels, tiny loaves of bread or wheat represent this week.

The Third Week is the week of “Shepherds,” common people who rejoiced at the news of Christ’s birth. This Sunday also emphasizes the importance of sharing God’s joyful good news. Sheep are the symbol.

The Fourth Week of Advent is the week of “Angels” who burst into the darkness to announce the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World and the Prince of Peace. Now is the week to fill the home with all the little angel decorations.

The central candle, often white and larger than the other four, is the Christ Candle. It is lit on Christmas Eve, and in some liturgical traditions remains lit until the remembrance of Christ’s Passion on Good Friday.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:7-10

Prayer for December 7:
O Lord of Past, Present and Future, we lift our prayers to you with hope and fear. We remember the troubles of the past, and we feel the guilty fear of our failings. We see the injustice and violence around us, and we fear for our safety. We tremble at the thought of future catastrophe. Yet your word echoes through our darkness, insisting on forgiveness, proclaiming salvation, demanding hope. You hold out grace we can never deserve, and you lift us out of our wretchedness into your glory. There is nothing for us to do, O God, but to offer our astounded gratitude, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Saturday, December 8, 2007




Who are the prophets in 21^st Century America?

In ancient Israel, two institutions wielded authority: the king who held political and military power, and the Priests who ran the Temple and maintained religious control in all areas of life. Originally, the priests and king both had their seat of authority in the capital city, Jerusalem. These two institutions overlapped in some ways, since the king’s claim was based on divine anointing of the royal linage.

A third branch of power stood over against both king and priests: the prophet. A prophet could be any man or woman who spoke the word of God with power. Generally the prophetic message was one of warning. The prophet identified injustice and corruption, and called the government, the religious institution and the people to repent and embrace righteousness. At times, a prophet might foretell future events, but usually the message focused on present injustice.

During certain eras, the “school of the prophets” may have been semi-organized association, operating outside the capital, “outside the beltway” in the current metaphor. But through most of Israel’s history, the prophet seems to have been strictly anti-establishment, a voice speaking against both government and institutional religion. According to Scripture, it was this disconnected voice, free from any political, economic or hierarchical control, that could act as the mouthpiece of God.

Jeremiah is a classic example of a prophet. Jeremiah had no intention of being any sort of prophet, but God sought him out and compelled him to speak. Similarly, Amos was a shepherd and pruned sycamore trees, and Ezekiel was an exile in a foreign country. Huldah was a working-class woman, probably a seamstress. The prize for Most Reluctant Prophet, of course, goes to Jonah, who literally tried to run away when God called him to prophesy against Nineveh.

Who stands in the position of “prophet” in Western Society today? Who acts as the conscience of our nation, unfettered by ties to government, corporations or economics? Evidently, people in positions of power, or financed by powers of the establishment, are unlikely to speak prophetically, uninfluenced by worldly authorities.

So, from the commotion of many voices clamoring to be heard, where can we find the voice of the prophet?

So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent went to the prophet Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (who lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. She declared to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the Lord: I will indeed bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants . . . But as to the king of Judah . . . because your heart was penitent and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants . . . I also have heard you, says the Lord. I will gather you to your ancestors and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace . . . . 2 Chronicles 34:22-28

Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear. . . I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. . . Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. Amos 5: 18-24

Prayer for December 8:
Thank you, loving God, for faithful prophets who have spoken your word through the ages, in spite of opposition and persecution. Help us, also, to be willing and ready to hear your voice, and to take up whatever task you give. We know the price of obedience may be great, and the road we travel may be long and lonely. Yet you also promise your faithful Presence, and together with the Body of Christ, your Church, no burden is too heavy and all things are possible. And whatever we do, in word or deed, we do in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him. Amen.

The Advent Meditations for 2007 conclude here.
You are very welcome to peruse our blog.
Most entries will be of interest mainly to members of
Grand Canyon Presbytery
and
Clergy Spouses of all varieties


(To the best of my knowledge, all the animations and graphics used in these Advent meditations are free graphics in public domain. A special "thank you" is due to the United Methodist Committee on Relief, General Board of Global Ministries for the excellent free Advent/Christmas graphics available through their site: . )