Advent 1 Yr A
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Einar Jónsson, 1874-1954. Vernd/Protection, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN [retrieved November 21, 2022].
Notes: “Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you…” The embrace that the sculpture portrays brings the observer into this secret space between mother and child. This mother is not only shielding the child from outside forces but is providing comfort and rest. Her body is making certain of the child’s physical safety, and her heart ensures the child’s emotional security. The child laying on the mother’s heart evokes a visceral connectedness; mother and child are linked by the heart in deep love.
The text states that the “Most High” is the dwelling place for safety. To dwell means to remain in a place for a period of time. In The Prophet, the poet Kahlil Gibran says that to truly love is to be in God’s heart. Both texts suggest that by making the Most High one’s dwelling place there is freedom because that place is secure. God draws us into God’s heart for our physical safety and emotional security. When God is home, and we love with God’s heart there is joy divine, peace of mind, and love that is boundless. --Olusola Tribble
Published date 11/23/2022
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11/23/2022
Watching is not something we modern folks are any good at. We are used to instant gratification. In fact, we get quite annoyed if we have to wait for anything these days. The technology of our world allows for so much to be at our fingertips that we can satisfy most whims at a moment’s notice.
Whilst that is helpful and convenient many cases, I do think that it can devalue the things we receive. We also lose the anticipation which is part of the joy of receiving.
Our ancestors understood the importance and power of watching. Of course, you needed someone to watch whilst others slept as a means of protection. People watched for messages to arrive. They watched for armies to descend. They watched for days to lengthen and shorten. They watched crops growing. They watched for harvest time. Watching was a significant part of their lives.
But watching is a skill that takes practice. Watching requires the ability to be still, to concentrate, to be aware of things outside ourselves and to realize that sometimes we must rely on something outside of ourselves that we have to wait to arrive.
Advent is a time of watching and waiting. My mother to this day sends me an Advent Calendar. I find it keeps me centered as I open a new window every day to mark off the days of the season. As a child it felt like an infinitely long time but as an aging adult it seems to pass more quickly every year. (I am also always disappointed that she flatly refuses to send me a Star Wars calendar!) I find the ceremony of opening the calendar every day a way of acknowledging the anticipation and trying to slow down a little bit as I watch.
Advent makes us uncomfortable. It impinges on our self-centered hurry up world. We have to take a long hard look at ourselves.
There is an old saying “Good things come to those who wait”.
And here we are in the season of waiting. Watching for the ultimate good thing to come. The incarnation of God with us. The ultimate example of our Creator’s love for us. No wonder we want the days to hurry up and pass. We want to receive that gift of ultimate love. But we need to be in the right frame of mind to allow that love into our lives and hearts. That is why Advent is a time to prepare.
I think that is a pretty good reason to slow down and watch. As I open each door of my Advent calendar, I will try and embrace the anticipation of Christmas and make a place in my heart for God.
© 2022 Edwina A Winter
Introduction
As we venture into Advent, we were reminded to watch for him and be ready. How, you may ask? Many of our Advent calendars give us daily small tasks that will help us prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ. And there are a number of other ways. Jan Richardson offers an online retreat for this season. Ms. Richardson's retreat is an exceptional journey. For those who do not know Richardson, she provides reflection, scripture, imagery, and music. Years ago, SSSJ prepared an advent calendar; I hope you enjoy it. The group FB page for St. Simon & St. Jude has daily posts of activities from the national Church's "Way of Love" campaign. Note that the calendar begins on December 1 (2022), not the first Sunday of Advent. Even if you don’t do one of these, prepare yourself for the Lord’s coming is at hand.
Comments welcome.
Matthew 24:36-44
Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
From sermon4kids.com: “Jesus told us that he would come again, but he didn't tell us what time he would be here. In fact, he said, "No one knows . . .. That is why you must be ready, I will come at a time when you least expect it." Wow! If we don't know when he is coming, how will we be ready? By . . . loving one another, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, and helping the poor. If we are doing those things, we will be ready when he comes.”
Scripture: November 27, 2022—First Sunday of Advent—Isaiah 2:1-5 (image); Romans 13:11-14 (image); Psalm 122 (image); and Matthew 24:36-44 (image). A visual/audio journey.
Collect: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflection:
Track 1: What does it mean to “get your house in order” for the coming of the Lord? Can we ever be perfectly ready for Christ’s return? Why is the coming of the Lord compared to a thief in the night? Is there grace in God’s surprising advent, God’s unexpected arrival?
Track 2: Look for places where the wolf and the lamb lie down together in peace. Where do you see that peace in your relationships, in your family or circle of friends, in the neighborhood, the city, the nation, and the world? Even within yourself, where has peace been forged between previously warring factions?
Excerpted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 1 © 2013 Westminster John Knox Press
Practice: What are you doing to "get your house in order"? How does that help your growth? Share if you're willing.
Eye Candy: “Peaceable Kingdom” by Edward Hicks; “Pelagaria“ by Eduardo Kingman; “Holy Family” by Nicholar Mynheer
Ear Worm: “Matin Responsory”, ancient welcome to Advent by Palestrina; “Syahumba”, African excitement; “Vine and Fig Tree”, mesmerizing israeli sound
Brain Food: “Groggy eyed in the darkness” by Shelli Williams; “Preparing for Advent's Holy Disruptions”by Sharon Bleazard at SOLI website; "God is with us—again" by John C Holbert
Parables: “Hitachi” (2009), human-animal friendships; “Wall-E” (2008), sweet movie are being alone; “The First” (2018), human mission to Mars.
For families: Study guide and activities; Group activities - lots of good activities; Kid video
For children: See family guide/activities (see coloring pages); Bulletin - one & two.
For middlers: See family guide/activities (another activity); Bulletin - one & two.
Coloring: Holy family; Isaiah; Hope; Peace; Joy; Love; and Emmanuel.
For youth: It's sometimes easy to get bogged down in details, but it is the disruptions that "fill our lives". Think of these as holy disruptions, intended to teach us. "One of Advent’s many themes is longing—longing for the Messiah to return, longing for God’s restoration of all of creation to finally come, longing for injustices and wars to end. Isaiah 2 lays out one vision of peace, where weapons of war are turned into instruments that help give life." What do you "long" for? Do you expect to realize it in your lifetime? How does that affect you (excerpted from “Preparing for holy disruptions” from the Stewardship of Life website). If you wish, share your thoughts.
On this Advent Sunday, the liturgy is centered on the second Advent of Christ, when he will return as judge and establish the Kingdom of God.
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells his followers that his return will be sudden and with no warning. Therefore, we are to live at all times as though his return is imminent. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah foresees that Kingdom as God’s reign over a united and peaceful humanity. All people will know themselves to be the children of God and brothers and sisters to all other people.
The second reading from Romans exhorts us to live as though we were in the last days. We are to live as though the Kingdom has come; shunning darkness and living in the light of God’s presence.
The Advent theme that points to Jesus’ first coming in his birth becomes the sign for us of the Advent yet to come. As we gather in the Eucharist, we find in our liturgical action a foretaste of the unity and peace of God’s Kingdom. We recognize that in this in-between time (between Jesus’ first coming and his second) we ourselves are caught up in the Eucharist into the Kingdom
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.