Advent Reflections 2015
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Advent Relfections 2015
WEEK ONE
Sunday, November 29 – Hope
1. Light one advent candle.
2. Let the gift of hope blaze through discouragement, doubt, and disgruntledness.
3. “Drawing Near: A Blessing for Advent” by Jan Richardson
It is difficult to see it from here, I know, but trust me when
I say this blessing is inscribed on the horizon. Is written on
that far point you can hardly see.
Is etched into a landscape whose contours you cannot know from here.
All you know is that it calls you, draws you, pulls you toward what you have perceived
only in pieces, in fragments that came to you in dreaming or in prayer.
I cannot account for how, as you draw near, the blessing embedded in the horizon
begins to blossom upon the soles of your feet, shimmers in your two hands.
It is one of the mysteries of the road, how the blessing you have traveled toward,
waited for, ached for suddenly appears, as if it had been with you all this time,
as if it simply needed to know how far you were willing to walk to find the lines that were traced upon you before the day you were born.
4. In what ways are you hopeful this season? What is something that you had once hoped for, only to discover to your surprise, that the answer was within you all along?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Monday, November 30 - Gratitude
1. Light one advent candle.
2. Let the gift of gratitude encourage you to be generous with your gifts.
3. The Trappist monk Thomas Merton recognized that gratitude is a primary spiritual response that arises from openness to life and increases our spiritual awareness. He wrote, ‘To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything God has given us - and God has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of God’s love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from God. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.’
4. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Know that every breath you draw is a gift of God’s love. Inhale God’s love. Exhale gratitude.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Tuesday, December 1 - Shadow
1. Light one advent candle.
2. Let the gift of shadow be an in-between place of connection and compassion.
3. There is darkness. And there is light. And there is shadow – an “in-between” place, connecting light to darkness. As we enter the darkest time of the year, we embrace the dark while we wait for the light. Our eyes adjust and see things we may normally miss – the disappointment that surfaces when we are with loved ones, the loss over the empty place at the table, the longing of a dream we had for our life, the fatigue of holding things together. When we adjust to the dark, we also see the shadows of others. It is an invitation to connection, to gentleness, to solidarity, to compassion for others and even – and sometimes more urgently – for ourselves.
These days bathe us in images of abundance and happiness,
but we pray for those who do not find in this time
a season of goodness and light.
Give us eyes to see into the shadows
cast by the millions of blinking lights;
ears to listen beyond the carols to hear the anguished weeping;
and hearts that long for the liberation
your advent truly brings.
Jan Richardson, in “Night Visions”
4. Turn down the lights. Notice the shadows cast by the Advent candles. Notice shadows in the room around you. What might they suggest about the presence of Spirit in your life?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Wednesday, December 2 - Acceptance
1. Light one advent candle.
2. Let the gift of acceptance nudge you to receive the unwanted ones.
3. Our hearts weep at the plight of the Syrian refugees and our country’s current debate on whether or not to accept those fleeing. Unwanted ones. How ironic that their struggle – for dignity, for shelter, for peace, for decency, for life – is at the front of our awareness as we enter Advent, the living memory of the plight of another Unwanted couple, patiently expectant and being denied entry to refuge and resorting to a manger. There was no room for them.
Lord, no one is a stranger to you, ever far from your loving care
In your kindness watch over refugees and asylum seekers - those separated from their loved ones;
those who are lost; those who have been exiled from their homes.
Bring them safely to this place where they long to be and
help us always to show your kindness to strangers,
remembering the kindness of strangers to our ancestors.
based on Australian Justice Prayer
4. What are ways that we can foster acceptance of those who are different? What are the things that we can do to create space around us where no one feels like an Unwanted One?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Thursday, December 3 - Courage
1. Light one advent candle.
2. Let the gift of courage grow bright in whatever requires your inner strength.
3. Roger Keyes, a professor of East Asian studies, has translated the works of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849) into poetry. His work, ‘Hokusai Says’ has some profound words on living life and having the courage to simply be.
Hokusai says Look carefully.
He says pay attention, notice.
He says keep looking, stay curious.
He says there is no end to seeing.
He says Look Forward to getting old.
He says keep changing,
you just get more who you really are.
He says get stuck, accept it, repeat yourself
as long as it’s interesting.
He says keep doing what you love.
He says keep praying.
He says every one of us is a child,
every one of us is ancient,
every one of us has a body.
He says every one of us is frightened.
He says every one of us has to find a way to live with fear.
He says everything is alive—
shells, buildings, people, fish, mountains, trees.
Wood is alive.
Water is alive.
Everything has its own life.
Everything lives inside us.
He says live with the world inside you.
He says it doesn’t matter if you draw, or write books.
It doesn’t matter if you saw wood, or catch fish.
It doesn’t matter if you sit at home
and stare at the ants on your verandah or the shadows of the trees and grasses in your garden.
It matters that you care.
It matters that you feel.
It matters that you notice.
It matters that life lives through you.
Contentment is life living through you.
Joy is life living through you.
Satisfaction and strength
are life living through you.
Peace is life living through you.
He says don’t be afraid.
Don’t be afraid.
Look, feel, let life take you by the hand.
Let life live through you.
4. Think of your day, your week, your month. Is there something that feels like it’s overshadowing all else? Something that you’re feeling anxious about? Afraid of? ‘Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Look, feel, let life take you by the hand. Let life live through you.’
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Friday, December 4 - Enthusiasm
1. Light one advent candle.
2. Let the gift of enthusiasm lift your spirit and help you to find new meaning in Christmas.
3. With the unveiling of Christmas lights, music, and advertisements happening as early as Halloween, you would never know that public displays of Christmas were once outlawed in this country. They were seen as pagan, anti-Christian, and too Catholic. The Puritans outlawed what they called “Papist Christmas” and made any type of religious observance on December 25 a punishable offense, proclaiming it to be a day of fasting and penance. Until 1856, Christmas Day was a workday in New England and anyone failing to come to work was fired. Public schools remained in session until 1870. It was the arrival of Italian, German, and Irish immigrants with their festive traditions and seasonal enthusiasm that things changed… but slowly. Across New England, congregations were still sternly warned against the dangers of celebrating Christmas. Ultimately, it was enthusiasm of the new immigrants that prevailed.
4. How enthusiastic are you feeling about preparing for and observing Christmas? What would help you tap into more enthusiasm? What new contributions might this generation of immigrants to this country offer to the ways we think about and observe Christmas in America?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Saturday, December 5 - Openness
1. Light one advent candle.
2. Let the gift of openness be a wide ray of love for those in need.
3. In the biblical story of the birth of Christ, we notice that there was no room in the Inn for Mary and Joseph. They could not find lodging where they hoped. This Advent, we can reflect on this dynamic and ask who and what we “welcome” and what we “have no room for” — in our inner souls and in our outer worlds. Do we dare to look more closely at what and who we welcome and who we turn away? We make room for lots of things, but which are the most essential? Those things we make room for reveal our values and priorities. As inn keepers, we are accustomed to welcome the wants and needs of our relatives, friends and colleagues in our communities, work or ministry. As we examine our list, we can see if those values and priorities are ones to keep or renovate.
4. Think of a time when you were open to someone who you thought had completely different priorities and interests than you. What kind of space did that create in you? Can you also think of a time when someone let you in, when you were not expecting it? How did that change you?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
WEEK TWO
Sunday, December 6 - Peace
1. Light two advent candles.
2. Let the gift of peace become, for you, the way.
3. Born in the Netherlands in 1885 and then emigrating to America when he was a boy, Rev. A. J. Muste became a pastor, political activist, and pacifist, remembered for his work in the labor movement, the anti-war movement, and the Civil Rights Movement, during which he was an important mentor to Bayard Rustin, close friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. It is Muste that first wrote, “There is no way to peace; peace is the way,” a quote often attributed to Gandhi. Father Edward Hays calls Advent a “winter training camp for peace.” Both sentiments remind us that peace is not a feeling, but a “way” – a practice. A commitment. We practice peace during Advent as a way of preparing ourselves and the world around us for the arrival of Jesus into the world. We practice peace through our words, actions, dreams, prayers, and intentions.
4. Think about your Christmas list. Are there ways to give gifts that contribute to peace and reflect your values? Could you choose more gifts that are made of renewable resources, that use less plastic (and less oil), that are made by companies that pay their workers fairly, or that are recycled or re-gifted? What about gifts that are homemade or gifts that offer experiences or time together, rather than an object? Come up with your own list of values and guidelines for peaceful presents. This song by Sufjan Stevens is a good reminder that the best gifts in life are not silver and gold - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3cfUolJxYg.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Monday, December 7 - Forgiveness
1. Light two advent candles.
2. Let the gift of forgiveness draw you closer to those from whom you are alienated.
3. Forgiveness can be powerfully transformative. It can change the person who has wronged us, and it can most definitely change us by freeing us from being controlled by anger. Archbishop Desmond Tutu reminds us that forgiving is not the same thing as pretending that the wrong never happened: ‘Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering—remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened.’
4. Is there a hurt that you still lay claim to—and that still lays claim to you? What would it take for you to forgive?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Tuesday, December 8 - Kindness
1. Light two advent candles.
2. Let the gift of kindness radiate through your words and actions.
3. Kindness seems to have a spark to it. When I see another person smile, it is as if there is a hint of light which escapes their eyes. They shine. Being kind, invoking a smile from those around you, brings special light to the world. Though advent falls among the shortest days of the year, our actions and our deeds can suspend the darkness.
There is a piece of light in all of us,
easily seen in the wise Thomas Berry
longing to heal the wounds of our planet,
or Dorothy Day who embraced the poor,
and Mahatma Ghandi, fighting for peace
with the weapon of nonviolence.
There is a piece of light in all of us,
the grandmothers and grandfathers,
children orphaned by AIDS and war,
the feeble, the lame, the disheartened,
the successful as well as the searcher.
There is a piece of light in all of us,
maybe hidden or buried with pain,
perhaps pushed in the corner by shame.
It is there in the arrogant, the hateful,
racists, torturers and abusers,
and ones who are willing to kill.
Seen or unseen, the light is there,
ready to kindle, eager to expand,
refusing to be tightly contained.
As soon as the tiniest space is allowed
it quickly emerges, floods outward,
illuminating the darkest of places.
One single candle lights a little dark space.
Many candles light a world full of people
desperately in need of each other's glow.
Each lone light makes us stronger
when we all stand together
Joyce Rupp
4. Think of a time when someone was kind to you. Did the space around you immediately following that moment seem to have somehow brightened? Think of someone you know would benefit from kindness. How can you be a source of light for them?
5. End by saying something you are grateful for.
Wednesday, December 9 - Surprise
1. Light two advent candles.
2. Let the gift of surprise dance in the corners of your heart that has forgotten to sing
3. God of Hope, come! Enter into this Advent season with a grace of joy and laughter. Fill faces with smiles of delight and voices with sounds of pleasure. Let this gift come from deep within. Replenish all with the joyful blessings that only your peace can bring.
4. What is one thing that happened to you this month that you were not expecting? In what ways did it bring joy to you or to those around you?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Thursday, December 10 - Urgency
1. Light two advent candles.
2. Let the gift of urgency pulse through you and move you to do the next, holy thing.
3. Urgency is not the same as anxiety, and it is not the same as impatience. When something is urgent, it is important, it needs to happen. Peace is urgent. Justice is urgent. When we sing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” in Advent, we are saying, “Come on, Jesus. Come into the world.” But this doesn’t just mean we are waiting for the sweet story of a baby born amidst the animals. We are calling the Jesus who loved the outcast and taught that the presence of God was all around us to come and live within us so we can be part of the holy work of healing, of listening, of tending, of praying, of noticing, of loving. Come, on, thou long-expected Jesus. Move us to that next holy thing.
4. Listen to this driving rendition of “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TedBbU71Qc. What urgent, holy thing do you need to do today?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Friday, December 11 - Patience
1. Light two advent candles.
2. Let the gift of patience permeate that which you find difficult and which makes you irritable.
3. As the days grow shorter and our to-do lists grow longer, patience is often one of the early casualties. Why be patient in a world that is impatient? In her poem ‘Walk Slowly,’ Danna Faulds reminds us that creating moments of quiet, or waiting, can revive us.
It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still and just like that,
something in me settles, softens,
makes space for imperfection. The harsh
voice of judgment drops to a whisper
and I remember again that life isn’t a relay race;
that we will all cross the finish line;
that waking up to life is what we were born for.
As many times as I forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I am going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, to be and walk
slowly into the mystery.
4. Perhaps you’re already feeling anxious for this exercise to be over. Sit with that feeling—or whatever you’re feeling in this moment. Notice it. Breathe in. Breathe out. Walk slowly into the mystery.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Saturday, December 12 - Remembrance
1. Light two advent candles.
2. Let the gift of remembrance glitter in good thoughts and good deeds
3. The word solstice comes from the Latin words for sun and standing still. The solstice occurs literally when the sun stands still. Well, that isn't exactly what happens, but I can see how the ancients might have seen it that way. Everyone has experienced moments where it seems as though time is standing still. We all have moments in our lives that stay with us forever: moments that shape us, that are frozen in time. Moments whose sights and sounds and smells shape our souls and give meaning to our lives because we bring them with us into our present. For many of you it may have been the birth of a child. For others maybe it was the death of a loved one, or an accident, or an incredible opportunity. Maybe it was a choice. Maybe it was something that happened to you. These are the moments that grab hold of our attention so tightly with their significance that we understand from that moment forward, nothing will be the same. Nothing will ever feel the same.
4. Ask Yourself: In what ways am I hibernating, turning inward, and resting at this time? What new ray of insight am I looking for, to guide me in the coming year? What's being born in me in the dark season, and in what ways has it been influenced by a shaping moment when time stood still for me?
5. End by saying something you are grateful for.
WEEK THREE
Sunday, December 13 - Joy
1. Light three Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of joy surprise the worn-down and fearful parts of yourself.
3. The music series Next Stop… Soweto tells the story of South African popular music during the era of apartheid. The liner notes to the third volume, covering 1963 – 1978, state that, ‘by the end of the 1960s, the apartheid police state had learned to operate far more effectively and consolidate its cultural policies. The effect was to push black creativity to the margins of visibility.’ It could not, however, stifle the spirit—or perhaps that should be the Spirit—of joyfulness that keeps human beings human even in the most trying of circumstances.
4. Spend a little time with the 1977 track ‘Joy’ by the group Spirits Rejoice. You can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TuhQ9nfZOU. You might even discover that shaking your butt is a deeply spiritual practice.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Monday, December 14 - Compassion
1. Light three Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of compassion draw you deeper into gentle, open places.
3. Sometimes our greatest gift to another person is the attempt to understand what they might be thinking or feeling – and resist the urge to react critically. Sometimes the greatest gift to ourselves is to notice what we are thinking and feeling – and resist the urge to react critically. In this passage, a grown man who might normally bristle and resist his father’s impulsive act, instead responds by… not letting his father wrap a wool scarf around his neck. Refraining from reacting critically, he is able to the act with compassion, leading to vulnerability and a tender exchange.
We decide to take a break from the eating, drinking,
and arguing — our traditional holiday pastimes —
to walk around the ice-encased neighborhood.
In the hallway, we sort through the piles of coats,
hats, and gloves, pulling out what we think we need,
and when I get to the door my father calls me back
to drape a scarf around my neck. In my forties,
I don’t like scarves anymore than when I was six,
but, now, having kids, I recognize what his fingers
are trying to say as they adjust the wool, and, I hope,
he recognizes what I’m trying to say by not moving.
It’s not much, but since neither of us needs anything
the other can buy, we try to exchange what we can,
a protective touch and a willingness to be touched.
"A Winter Dialogue" by Joseph Robert Mills
4. If you are with another person, touch one another’s hands. If you are alone, touch one of your hands with the other. Notice how it feels to receive a gentle touch, and how it feels to give it.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Tuesday, December 15 - Determination
1. Light three Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of determination empower you in the midst of your struggles.
3. Life is hard sometimes. And while that sentiment may be clichéd, it doesn’t make it any less true. The cheerfulness of holidays accentuates our loneliness. Family gatherings breed awkward and sometimes painful conversations. We feel stuck in our professional or personal lives. Gregory Orr names this truth—but also speaks to finding the power to keep moving on, anyhow.
Grief will come to you.
Grip and cling all you want,
It makes no difference.
Catastrophe? It's just waiting to happen.
Loss? You can be certain of it.
Flow and swirl of the world.
Carried along as if by a dark current.
All you can do is keep swimming;
All you can do is keep singing.
4. ‘All you can do is keep singing.’ Is there a song that you sing or listen to when you need some encouragement? This is a good time to sing it or listen to it.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Wednesday, December 16 - Laughter
1. Light three Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of laughter sparkle in your eyes and in your smile
3. There is a children’s book called The Jester Has Lost His Jingle. In it, the very job of the jester is to make others laugh. He finds a day when he is unable to do that, and the entire kingdom becomes sad, and gray. So, the jester travels to places far away in search for laughter. He visits places foreign to him, and searches for laughter among the homeless and tired. Unable to find it, he visits a hospital and engages in conversation with a young girl who is quite sick. Somehow, in the space of this conversation, the girl – and jester – find laughter. The jester returns laughter to where it was lost and the book is a reminder that laughter can exist in a weary world and is sometimes the instrument which helps get us through it. And beyond that, laughter resides within, and can be source of healing and comfort no matter our circumstances.
4. When was the last time you laughed? Really, really laughed? Belly jiggling, snorting, howling, ‘I don’t care what others’ think’ laugh? Can you think of a time when you were able to find sweet humor in an otherwise sad moment? How was that helpful?
5. End by saying something you are grateful for.
Thursday, December 17 - Fear
1. Light three Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of fear help remind you that you are held by God.
3. You might be afraid and not even know it. Fear is such a complex emotion, most of us don’t realize the ways we might be expressing it even when we don’t know we’re afraid. Anxiety is fear. Jealousy is fear. Rage is fear. And often excessive eating, drinking, using drugs or medication, lots of shopping, avoidance, or other “bad habits” can all be ways of managing that fear. Gandhi said, “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but it is fear.”
Close both eyes to see with the other eye.
Open your hands, if you want to be held.
Sit down in this circle.
Quit acting like a wolf, and feel the shepherd's love filling you.
Be empty of worrying.
Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?
Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Be in silence.
Flow down and down in always widening rings of being.
"A Community of the Spirit" by
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
4. What if we all realized that we were all afraid? What if feeling our fear helped us to be more clear about the choices we make? Close your eyes and open your hands. Take three breaths. Feel yourself held by God. Next time you feel fear or something that might be fear in another disguise, try opening your hands and taking three breaths to remember that you are held by God.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Friday, December 18 - Justice
1. Light three Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of justice inspire you to stand with those in need.
3. Archbishop Desmond Tutu uses this whimsical metaphor to make a powerful point: ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.’
4. What is the power that you have to make the world a better place? Can you find a way today to join your voice with others’?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Saturday, December 19 - Satisfaction
1. Light three Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of satisfaction shine through your expectations, wants and desires
3. “We are freed by God’s love to live in the freshness of each new day” – Mary Ann Neevel
“I’m not really sure what such a sentence means….I’m far more inclined to think that it is in the freshness of each day that we are freed to experience, seek, become aware of God’s love. When we get stuck in yesterday – its disappointments, its guilt – we may miss entirely the reality of God’s ever-blooming love for us. Now and here.” - Joan Chittister
4. Are there ways that you can practice living in the moment? What kind of satisfaction would you experience if you woke each day and thought of it as a fresh beginning, wholly new to you?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
WEEK FOUR
Sunday, December 20 - Love
1. Light four Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of love become a practice and not just a feeling.
3. Love is a gift. But it is also a practice. It’s not just something you feel. It’s something you do – even when you don’t feel it.
What I loved in the beginning, I think, was mostly myself.
Never mind that I had to, since somebody had to.
That was many years ago.
Since then I have gone out from my confinements,
though with difficulty.
I mean the ones that thought to rule my heart.
I cast them out, I put them on the mush pile.
They will be nourishment somehow (everything is nourishment somehow or another).
And I have become the child of the clouds, and of hope.
I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.
I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned,
I have become younger.
And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?
Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.
"To Begin With, the Sweet Grass" by Mary Oliver
4. Now, or when it is time to pack up the ornaments, take one off the tree and do not pack it away. Put it on your home altar or sacred space, if you have one. If not, put it somewhere where it will remind you to practice Christmas love all year round. Even when you’re not feeling it.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Monday, December 21 - Conflict
1. Light four Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of conflict open your eyes to new possibilities.
3. Zen master Ryokan (1758 – 1831) lived mostly as a hermit and a beggar. He developed a distinctive style of calligraphy because he couldn’t afford brushes, and therefore used twigs. His poem about listening, as translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi, offers sage insight about disagreement and conflict. Often, it is easy to write off those with whom we disagree. Ryokan, however, suggests that we might learn something from conflict, and might move forward if we learn how to listen productively.
Before listening to the way, do not fail to wash your ears.
Otherwise it will be impossible to listen clearly.
What is washing your ears?
Do not hold on to your view.
If you cling to it even a little bit,
you will lose your way.
What is similar to you but wrong, you regard as right.
What is different from you but right, you regard as wrong.
You begin with ideas of right and wrong.
But the way is not so.
Seeking answers with closed ears is
like trying to touch the ocean bottom with a pole.
4. Have you found yourself in conflict with someone recently? Is there someone with whom you deeply disagree? What can you learn by entering deeply and respectfully into their perspective?
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Tuesday, December 22 - Reverence
1. Light four Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of reverence remind you of the holy all around and within you.
3. Before entering temples and mosques, Hindus and Muslims remove their shoes to show reverence for the sacred. Standing before the burning bush, Moses was told to take off his shoes – he was on holy ground. Many people around the world bow as a sign of both respect and reverence. December is not a good time to go barefoot, but a deep bow, or a slight incline of the head can be a powerful reminder and acknowledgement that we stand on holy ground, that we are surrounded by the love of God, that Jesus’ breaking into history reminded us in flesh and bone of God’s love for us and for the world. What if we bowed at the opening or close of the day to acknowledge the ways God holds us, all that we love, and all that is unknown to us? What if we bowed when we see the wonder of children, the power of technology, the sparkle of the lights, the best efforts of others? What if we bowed in reverence to the beauty and pain and spirit within and around us?
4. If you are alone, bow your head slightly, or deeply, to the candles in front of you, bowing to the presence of God in the light and the darkness. If you are with others, bow to each person around you in silence. During this week, consider bowing deeply or ever-so-slightly when you feel gratitude or reverence.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Wednesday, December 23 - Understanding/Loss
1. Light four Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of loss bring you closer to understanding
3. The other night, as I tucked my youngest son in, I couldn’t help noticing how completely he filled up my arms. I felt the stabbing awareness of the dwindling of time and I held him tighter. He nestled in close, and I felt him melt into me as he slowly succumbed to sleep. My arms to him are a sanctuary, a shelter of love. As I cradled him to me in the dark, I tried desperately to remember how it must feel to be held in such a manner.
Try as I might, I could not muster a single memory. Too many years have gone by since I have sought such a sanctuary. Nevertheless, I found myself longing for my mother. I felt an ache inside of me for tender arms to hold me tight. Does it seem odd for a grown woman to yearn to be held like a child?
The holiday season always awakens in me a need to be nurtured. During this time that we await the birth of Jesus, my heart is a door wide open, waiting to usher in the love his presence brings. But as I stand at the door, beckoning others to come in and feast on the joy of the season, the ones I love most remain absent. There are empty places left at the table of my heart.
Our expectant hearts feel the resonation of loss all the more during this time of waiting. The fullness of the days can make the stillness of absence ring in our ears. The season is bittersweet for some. Hearts are cognizant of empty places: loved ones departed, emotional estrangement, abandoned dreams, disappointments, and fears. Absence creates a presence that we carry with us as we rush to and fro during Advent. And we ask ourselves, how can a season of such joy also spark this kindred sorrow?
We are told that out of loss comes growth, that suffering builds strength. Hard as this is to understand, this means there is nourishment in the difficult place of sorrow.
Do I dare accept my grief as an invitation to draw nearer to God?
-Laura Bogges
4. Who are you longing for this Advent season? In what ways have you made a sanctuary for yourself? How have memories of that person provided you with comfort or strength?
5. Say what you are thankful for.
Thursday, December 24 - Light
1. Light four Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of light stream through you – warm and heavy and pure like gold.
3. In the northern hemisphere during the winter solstice and Advent, this is the darkest time of year. We live in the dark and long for the light. Eric Whitacre, a composer and conductor, imagined a choir of people from all over the world, singing from their own living rooms and offices and bathrooms in a single choir. He wrote, “Lux Arumuque,” setting to music an ancient Latin poem celebrating the birth of Jesus. Over 2,000 people – professional singers and novices alike - from 58 countries recorded their part of the song and submitted it. Whitacre compiled the voices into one virtual choir.
Light, light, light
Warm and heavy, heavy
Pure like gold.
They sing and sing to the newborn babe.
“Lux Arumuque”
4. Listen to Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir sing, “Lux Arumuque” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs. Imagine joining your voice with others from around the world, celebrating the light, and singing to welcome new life – in Jesus born in Nazareth, new life springing up around you, or new life growing within you.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
Friday, December 25 - Wonder
1. Light four Advent candles.
2. Let the gift of wonder draw you to appreciate the beauty in and around you.
3. It’s so easy to be swamped by our tasks and responsibilities that we forget to notice that the world is full of surprises. In telling us ‘Why You Should Go Outside at 4:40 am in November,’ Rosemary Royston reminds us that even the most ordinary things can leave us gaping in amazement.
Because it is more silent than you can imagine
and above you the moon is a nickel
glinting from the unseen sun,
surrounded by broken crystals.
With the limbs of the bare trees
web-spread like arteries,
under a sky whose shade
has yet to be named
you will find your mouth agape,
eyes lifted as your knees
sink into the fallow garden,
praying, regardless of belief.
4. Feel for your pulse. Contemplate your veins. Listen to someone else’s breathing. Step outside and feel the air brush your skin. Life is a gift. Life is a gift. Life is a gift.
5. End by saying what you are thankful for.
