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Encouragement for a lifelong journey of faith

Category: Advent 2020 (Page 2 of 7)

December 20, 2020 – Unexpected Expectation

December 20, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Light your candle every time you pray in Advent. You may need to get more candles. That would be great. This common practice will unite us in the darkening days. Shine your light on social media using  #HowWeHope as often as you need to feel the connection. You are not alone. The Lord is near. We are near.

Today’s Bible reading

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.—Luke 2:8-9

More thoughts for meditation

The shepherds are part of a tradition, part of a story, part of a people that is waiting for the very announcement that comes. They are part of a nation that has held on to the endurance and faithfulness of God’s love, and they expect, once again to be liberated from their captivity, this time by the Romans. As such, they expect that announcement that’s about to come. But how it comes is unexpected, and when it does, they are afraid—terrified even. The Glory of God comes in a light-filled sky to discarded members of society, these lowly shepherds, who are probably not even watching sheep they own. The magnificence of God displayed first to the lowliest of the society. What they don’t know is that God will enter into their frailty, their humanity, as a baby. And so while they may have faith for their deliverance, they have no idea how it will come. God is always surprising the ones who fear God. The shepherds believe that they redemption comes, but how God works is often mysterious.

Suggestions for action

Have you ever had an announcement that you were anticipating arrive in an unexpected way? Today, welcome the mystery and the surprise. You may be tempted to expand your imagination so as not to be surprised, and that is a good exercise unto itself, but also give yourself the grace to be surprised and the faith to accept it when you are. Maybe you have an idea for how God will redeem you from whatever present captivity you are in, but hold out hope for something new to surprise you, even during this plague we are all in.

December 19, 2020 — Holding as we wait

December 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Nativity by Solomija Krushynska

Light your candle every time you pray in Advent. You may need to get more candles. That would be great. This common practice will unite us in the darkening days. Shine your light on social media using  #HowWeHope as often as you need to feel the connection. You are not alone. The Lord is near. We are near.

Today’s Bible reading:

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

John 16:20-24

More thoughts for meditation:

One of my favorite things is to observe nativity art from around the world. In every language and culture it seems there is a representation of the miracle of the incarnation. What hope it brings that God came to look and be like each of us in our own time and place, to bridge the gap between us in order to demonstrate the way of self-giving love. From sunny island scenes with palm trees to dark and snowy scenes like this one from the Ukraine, we observe the wonder of Emmanuel, God-with-us. 

What happens, though, when Emmanuel grows up and dies a brutal and excruciating death right in front of us? What was God thinking? How could he ask so much? What happens when 70 years after the civil rights movement, Black people are still being shot by police in our streets and racism still has an insidious hold on every aspect of our lives? What happens when we’re experiencing 9 months of isolation in a pandemic, experiencing a level of loneliness we never knew existed? How do we endure?

Mary’s journey was filled with honor and wonder but it was also filled with unspeakable loss and questions. Maybe we have an opportunity to see something deeper about Christmas this year.

Suggestions for action:

Ponder the Pieta by Michaelangelo below. Mary is grieving. This is not what she expected when the angel told her she was highly favored. Was she duped? Should she give up? I am sure that part of her wanted to die with her son. 

But notice her left hand open to God. There is nothing in it except hope for a miracle. And a miracle she did see; death did not hold her son forever. She went on to plant the early church in the power of his Spirit, and saw the miracle of many lives saved and transformed. 

Know that God sees your suffering right now. He suffers with you. Pray for faith to endure. Pray for a miracle. Hold your hand open like Mary.

December 18, 2020 — Treasuring in your heart

December 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Nativity by Carol Aust

Light your candle every time you pray in Advent. You may need to get more candles. That would be great. This common practice will unite us in the darkening days. Shine your light on social media using  #HowWeHope as often as you need to feel the connection. You are not alone. The Lord is near. We are near.

Today’s Bible reading:

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”  

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:28-32,19

More thoughts for meditation:

Theoretically we have more space and time this season to ponder and reflect. Most of us are not preparing for big holiday parties or travelling out of town to see relatives this year. There are still many ways to keep busy and stressed, but perhaps there is an invitation for more reflection and pondering like Mary did. This is not an insignificant opportunity because it takes our brains longer to store positive experiences in long-term memory. Savoring and relishing what’s good in our minds and hearts is actually necessary to hanging on to them! Reflecting with curiosity and wonder with God helps us reverse some of the fearful effects of trauma as well. Trusted friends and / or professionals can help us reflect and ponder, too.

Mary didn’t know what to do with all the strange and unexpected things that were happening around this child from her first moment with the angel. So Luke records that she ponders and treasures them in her heart as he grows and interacts with the world. Pondering her questions and experiences was a tool for all that couldn’t be explained or understood in the moment. It was a way of holding them with God. What a great practice with all that we don’t understand yet either! 

One thing is clear about this child, though: He was extraordinary. He elicited big reactions, like Simeon’s above, and miracles surrounded him from conception to resurrection. Joseph stays with Mary, they escape Herod’s murderous clutches, many lives are changed and transformed through encounter with this One. Not even the Roman Empire could destroy him with their most shameful form of punishment. He continues to change lives and bring hope. His life with us is probably worth pondering and treasuring in our hearts, too.

Suggestions for action:

Take a moment for some treasuring right now. What do you want to hang on to this Advent? Can you identify some positive change or new revelation you want to explore or keep savoring? It’s probably related to something you don’t completely understand yet, and that makes room for wonder. Ask God to help you hang on to it, and to reveal more.

December 17, 2020 — The revelation of mercy

December 17, 2020 / / 1 Comment

The Holy Family by Fr. John Giuliani

Light your candle every time you pray in Advent. You may need to get more candles. That would be great. This common practice will unite us in the darkening days. Shine your light on social media using  #HowWeHope as often as you need to feel the connection. You are not alone. The Lord is near. We are near.

Today’s Bible reading:

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 1:46-55

More thoughts for meditation:

Mary is feeling it!  After her cousin affirms what is happening in her, Mary exclaims this song of praise. This is all so surprising. They trusted that the Messiah would come to save them; they were waiting for him along with the others for hundreds of years. But through HER, right now? She’s just a young peasant girl from a little tribe. Why would God pick them? She is overcome by the honor. She is overcome by the irony that God chooses the weak to confound the strong, as the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians later. She is overcome by God’s mercy; that THIS is how God chooses to save the world: not through grand showings of force and intimidation by wealthy and famous people, but by indwelling the poor who have been waiting for him. She is overcome by hope that the world is about to change because God is making things right. This is a song of joy and justice. This is a subversive song about God’s love.

Mary reveals the generosity and humility of God’s essence and way of salvation. It is cosmic and personal. Transcendent and immanent. Big and little. Far and near. Mystical and physical. Mary can see it all held together in this moment, even in her own body. It is rather mind-blowing, but we try to reveal this incarnational way in our life together as a Circle of Hope, trusting God to make us the content, leading together in teams and trying to honor one another above ourselves. We meet in small groups for personal discipleship, and also in public in a larger forum on Sundays where everyone can get in on worshipping God together. Our compassion teams lead us to make practical change in the world, like providing food for those who need it and bailing people out of prison, and our mission teams lead us to devotional practices like prayer meetings. We want to experience and express the breadth and depth of God’s mercy, because we are all recipients of this mercy. It’s all part of the way that God is making things right.

Suggestions for action:

Take some time with your candle to worship God right now. When Mary sings “His mercy extends to those who fear him” she means that God’s grace is experienced by those who honor and worship and revere him. Take a moment to do that right now: to be in awe of this God who would come in such an unexpected way, not in worldly power but in vulnerability. What trust this baby has in us to care for him! Following him must be about coming to those who are hungry and waiting to be fed. Recognize that you are among those people right now, and be filled. Give thanks and praise as you hold your candle.

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