Friday - Advent 1 - Peace and wholeness

Prayer:  Emmanuel,  be with those people who still walk in the darkness and have not seen Your light.  May those who walk in darkness see the light of the Christ Child born for them this year.   God with us,  You overcome the darkness so that we may clearly see the way to walk along Your path,  the truth to speak for You,  and the life to live for You.   You have come,  You are coming,  You will come again.  Emmanuel.

 

Read  Isaiah  9: 2-7

 

In this prophecy,  Isaiah tells the people that there will be a child born who will bring the light and love of God into their midst.   Peace will reign in the land.  

 

It will be through the birth of a child that the people walking in darkness have seen a great light.   And what kind of a child will this be?  The government will be upon his shoulders… he will be called Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God,  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,  he will bring peace and wholeness to all peoples.    This is quite a prophecy.    How would we react today if  the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada said that through a birth of a baby,  the world will live in peace?     We would kinda scoff at the statement wouldn’t we.     Yet we know the rest of the story.  It is through the birth of a baby,  the Son of God,   that our sins are forgiven.  Wow!

 

This portion of scripture is frequently used in Advent worship and in Christmas Lessons and Carols Worship.     For us here today,  we look back at this scripture and say, “This was prophecying the birth of our Saviour”.  

 

We also hear this portion of scripture in Georg Frederick Handel’s  Oratorio called “The Messiah”.   Charles Jennings was the person who chose the scriptures for Georg Frederick Handel’s  “Messiah”.      Jennings chose scriptures that told of the life of Christ,  from prophecy such as here in Isaiah to the Gospels.   For Jennings,  this portion of Isaiah was important for those who listened to the “Messiah”  to hear this prophecy.    

 

What about us today?   When we read this portion of scripture,  what do we think?   Do we rejoice that the Christ Child was born to bring peace into the world?   And we take this portion of scripture  one step further.   Knowing that we are the hands of Christ,  how will we bring about peace and wholeness to our Church and our community this day?   Nelson Mandela was one man who brought about peace and wholeness to a whole nation.   We weep with sadness that his earthly life is gone but we rejoice with joy that now he is with God.    Nelson Mandela brought peace and wholeness to a whole nation.  Can we do any less this Advent?

 

Prayer:   Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,    Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace You bring peace into our world.   You bring peace into our Churches.  You bring peace into our lives.   We rejoice this time of Advent and in the stillness we can see the peace You have brought to the world.   This day,  Emmanuel, we are Your voice.  Enable us to bring peace and wholeness to our Church and our community so that the world may know Your peace and joy and love.   Allelujah  Emmanuel.  Amen.

Thursday - Advent 1 Keeping Watch

Prayer:  Great God,  help us to keep watch this day so that when evening comes we can rest and abide with You,  God our Father.  Shake us out of our complacency and restore our faith so that we can live and work in Your presence.  Prepare our hearts this day for the coming of the Christ Child.  Emmanuel.    Amen.

 

Read     Matthew 24: 36 - 44

 

In this portion of the Gospel,  Jesus is telling the disciples to keep watch for the coming of God.  No one but God knows when the day or the hour will occur but to keep watch.    Jesus mentions the days of Noah and before the flood,  people were complacent and not remembering God.  

 

Jesus states that the day will come when one man will be left but the other man will be taken.  Two women will be grinding grain… one will be taken but the other will be left. Keep watch.  Keep the faith.    Do not become complacent.

 

What does it mean to be complacent in the faith today?    It isn’t something we set out to do but it does happen.  Complacency means we put our faith and our study of God as a very low priority in our life.   Continuing to mature in the faith means putting God first.    This doesn’t mean that we sign up for all volunteer opportunities within the Church.  How we develop our faith is through attending worship,  through study of the Bible,  reading the Bible, daily prayers,  daily devotion and reflection, and so on.     Our faith never remains stagnant.  Our faith changes and grows as we change and grow.   

 

This Advent,  what one thing will you do so that you do not become complacent in the faith?  This Advent,  how will you keep watch for the coming of God?

 

Prayer:  Come, Thou long expected Jesus.  You were born to set all people free  from our fears and our sins.   For in You we know that we are forgiven.  We know that we find our rest in You.  Holy God,  You are our strength and consolation.  Great God,  we know that the coming of Christ is the  hope of all the earth and the desire of every nation.  We come You with our hearts filled with joy.  Holy Son,  You are born to deliver all peoples.  You are born a child and yet a king.   Come Lord Jesus and bring Your  gracious kingdom. Rule in all our hearts alone this day and always.  Come Lord Jesus.  Emmanuel.  Amen.

 

Wednesday - putting aside deeds of darkness

Prayer:   Great God,  during this season of Advent and always may we put on the armour of light and live each day in Your glory.  Heal our hurts and our complacency so that we can live all of our days in Your glory.  Amen.

 

Read   Romans 13: 8  – 14

 

Paul  writes to the Romans that  love is the fulfilment to the law.    Love your neighbour as yourself.  Paul asks the Romans to wake up from their slumber,  to put aside their deeds of darkness and to put on the armour of light. 

 

These three images that Paul uses are great images.   Paul is asking the Romans to wake up from their mediocre lives… from their slumber…..to remember and return to God.    Have you ever had a conversation with someone and in asking how they are and what is new they reply,
Same ol’  same ol’?”     As Christians,  God asks us to live each day as if it was a new day.  We live our life within God’s love.    So for us,  each day is a new adventure… we shake the slumber off of ourselves and get ready for a great day.     What one new thing will you do today that will prepare for the coming of Christ?

 

Put aside the deeds of darkness.    What are these deeds of darkness?   We often think of the big ones like “do not murder” and “do not steal” and “do not commit adultery” but what about those other deeds of darkness…..   living life in complacency,  living life gossiping about our neighbour,  living life holding a grudge.  Paul says that we must put aside all deeds of darkness so that we can carry out the work of God.  During this season of Advent,  winter has begun.  We wake up in the darkness each day and by  8:30am (or so),  the sun has popped up over the horizon.   This is a great illustration of  the deeds of darkness and coming into the light of the Gospel.    This is a great reminder for us each day that we need to ask God for forgiveness of our sins.

 

Put on the armour of light.  Return to God.  Remember God. As we live through this season of Advent,  include God in your life each day.   Remember to thank God for your life and for your day.    How will you put on the armour of light today?

 

Prayer:  This day O LORD,  we wake up in the darkness of night and  we put on the armoury of light.  We will live this day in Your presence so that we can be awaken  alert and recognize Your kingdom.  Come Lord Jesus Come.   Amen.

 

Tuesday - Advent 1

Prayer:  O Come,  O Come  Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,  that mourns in lowly exile here, until the Son of God appear.  Rejoice,  rejoice,  Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.  Amen.    (O Come, O Come   Emmanuel    Hymn    words: public domain  Translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866).

 

Read  Psalm 122

This Psalm is one of the many Psalms that would have been sung as the people journeyed up to the Temple.   This is often called a “song of ascents”.    Together the people would journey to the Temple.   As they journeyed,  they didn’t talk about  what was happening in their lives,  they sung the Psalms to God.  

 

The focus of this Psalm is on peace.  May there be peace within your walls.   Peace be within you.    That is quite a request.   Today as we listen to the news and read the newspapers,  we hear of war and conflicts and we begin to wonder where is God’s peace?   God’s  peace is within our hearts.  It is up to us to pray and ask God to use us so that peace can be brought into this world.  

 

Preparing our hearts during Advent just doesn’t mean cleaning our houses and baking cookies,  it also means praying.    Today as we carry out our lives,  pray  prayers of peace.   They don’t need to be long prayers but with each task and chore that you do today,  pray for peace and justice to be brought into our world.

 

Prayer:  Great God of healing,  we pray to You today for peace within our world.   May those who are displaced because of war and conflict find peace and rest within Your loving arms.   Use us this day to be instruments of Your peace. May peace be within us.  O Come O Come Emmanuel.  Amen. 

 

Monday - Advent -- prophets

Prayer:   Almighty God,  may we live this day in Your love and Your care.  With each thing we do this day,  may we rejoice in knowing that You are with us. Turn our minds and our hearts to You.    You are our rock and our shield.  May we live in Your glory this day and always.  Amen.

 

Read   Isaiah 1   and  Isaiah 2: 1 – 5

 

In the Old Testament,  prophets were needed with each generation to remind the people to return to God.   Prophets also stood before Kings to let them know when they had displeased or turned away from God.

 

Why do we not have prophets today?   The short answer is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,  our sins have been forgiven.

 

Even though our sins have been forgiven,  we still need reminders of  keeping our hearts and minds and souls in tune with the Word of God.    Advent is a time for us to remember to keep our hearts in tune with God.  

 

In today’s  scripture reading,  the prophet Isaiah receives a vision.   And the vision is of a rebellious nation and a people loaded with guilt and corruption.    In general,  the community was a mess.   They had turned away from the love of God.     Isaiah 1  the people seem hopelessly lost in sin and bad behaviour and evil living.   Yet,  yet,  Isaiah the prophet is given another vision in chapter 2.  This is a vision of the mountain of the LORD --  the people return to God

and there is hope.

 

When we abide in God,  there is always hope in any situation.    Read through Isaiah 2: 1 – 5 again and write down any phrases that are hopeful:       

 

 

Why do these phrases seem hopeful to you?   Throughout today,  repeat these hopeful phrases to prepare your heart for the coming of the Christ Child.

 

Prayer:   Great God,  each day we come before You knowing that You always give us hope in our lives.  Teach us Your ways this day O Lord so that we may walk in Your path of goodness and righteousness.  Continue to prepare our hearts this Advent so that we walk in Your light and love this day.   Amen.

First Sunday in Advent

Prayer:     Return O Lord and deliver our souls for the sake of Your love.   Help us to keep our eyes and our thoughts always upon You.   Amen.

Advent is the beginning of our Church year.   Since 7AD,  Christians around the world have celebrated Advent.    Advent is a Latin word that means “Coming”.  For Christians around the world advent is the time to remember the coming of Christ – of the light of the world.    Each Advent season we prepare our hearts and our minds for the coming of the Christ Child.   In our worship, four Sundays before Christmas,   Presbyterian congregations bring out the Advent Wreath and Candles and use the Presbyterian World Service and Development Advent Liturgy.  

Yet Advent is more than just preparing for Christmas – for the birth of the Christ Child and the Christmas baking and the Christmas shopping and writing the Christmas letter.  Advent is a time for us to celebrate Advent in our own homes and in our daily lives.   It is a time for us to realize that Christ has come,  Christ is coming,  Christ will come again.  

 

When family calls  us up and says they are coming to stay with us for a week,  what do we do?  We prepare our homes for our family.   We clean up the house,  we make up the beds and lay out the guest towels.   We store up on more food and bake awesome cookies. 

Preparing for the coming of the Christ Child is greater than preparing our homes for the coming of relatives.   How much more must we do for Advent?  Over these next four weeks,  we will prepare our hearts and souls and minds for the coming of the light of the world – Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

 

Prayer:  Divine Healer,  keep us awake and alert as we prepare for the coming again of Your kingdom.  Keep us strong in faith so that we may greet the Christ Child with joy and praise.  Amen.

Advent - the beginning of waiting and preparing

Crunch, crunch, crunch went my feet on the snow as I walked along the path.  The temperature was -31C and I was bundled up in winter gear good to -45C.     With each step,  the wind would blow away the footprints behind me.   Small steps forward.   Leave no foot prints.     I am recovering from some major surgery and walking at least three times a day is necessary.  

When I first started walking after surgery,  I was not walking,  I was shuffling.   Our next door neighbour wondered if I was walking with the latest fad  of Zen Walking.   Zen Walking is the meditation of each step,  of listening and hearing what is around before one takes the next step.  I said while I wasn't into the fad,  I was walking as fast as I could due to surgery.    But you know,  meditation with walking is awesome.  It gives one time to pray to God and to listen and hear the sounds of life in the city.    

With each day of walking,  I have been able to go further but only in small steps. Each time I am out walking,  I walk a couple of extra small steps further than what I'd walked in the previous walk.  Over the four weeks that I have been home and walking,  I am now walking two blocks. 

We take small steps as we begin this Season of Advent.   Advent is a time of waiting and preparation for the coming of the Christ Child.    With each of the four weeks in Advent,  we hear Advent Litanies in Church  and read Advent devotionals.  Small steps of learning yet again of the stories of the prophets -- the cry to return again to God,  of  John the Baptist and his cry of repentance and forgiveness,  of Love and Peace and Joy and Hope,  and Mary,  and then the glorious impossible of God come to earth as the Holy Child.  

Small steps forward into the love of God.  As we trod with each small step,  may we pray for the love and peace and joy and hope of this Season.