Advent - Small Signs of God "Alertness"

 

Day 3 Alertness

If Advent is a season of waiting, then shouldn't we always be alert to that for which we wait? 

The silly song  on the radio reminds me that I, too, need to focus on the one right thing. Alvin, the chipmunk, has the same trouble that so many of us have each Advent. The director is preparing his group to sing their Christmas song. Simon is ready. Theodore is ready. But then we hear, "Alvin....Alvin.....ALVIN!"  Alvin is looking off, busy with other things, maybe good things, maybe not. Time is spent getting him back on track to sing his Christmas song. (The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late;1958)

How much time do you spend getting yourself "back on track" ?

Today I read:

"Be Alert, be alert, so that you will be able to recognize your Lord in your husband, your wife, your parents, your children, your friends, your teachers, but also in all that you read in the daily papers. The Lord is coming, always coming. Be alert to his coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent: life is recognizing the coming of the Lord."(Henri J.M. Nouwen, Gracias! A Latin American Journal)

We hear ourselves respond, "But I don't see the Lord in that person and I look and look, but can never find the Lord in the news." 

We keep looking for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And guess what? We find the Lord either in rejoicing because of the presence of those things or the lamenting the great need of them. We rejoice with finding the Lord or we search and wait for Him to be found. Either way, we recognize him and our great need for him.

Even the Chipmunks in Christmas Don't Be Late recognize their need for Christmas when they sing:

"We've been good, but we can't last.

Hurry Christmas, hurry fast!"

Try as we might, we just can't be good in our own might. We can't last. We need the coming of Christmas to bring us the perfect Christmas gift - grace, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Pay attention! We have a song to sing!

"Keep awake - for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at down, or else me may find you asleep when he comes suddenly."(Mark 13:35-36)

Baby of Grace who comes to us,

 give me ears to hear and eyes to see without distraction.

 I want to be alert in order to recognize you every moment.

Advent - Small Signs of God "Morning Stillness"

 

Small Signs  #2 - Morning Stillness

 Why are the moments between darkness and dawn so very still? 

The night voices quiet themselves and the morning birds wait for the first rays of light. 

Stillness. 

I open my eyes and I, too, wait. As the first rays of light peek through the trees, the morning noises, one by one, increase their volume. Another day. Another new morning reminds me of the words from Isaiah, "Morning by morning He wakens - wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught."(Isaiah 50:4)

I am discovering the quiet before dawn is what rescues me from the perils of the day. Stillness and quiet waiting help me to hear the voice of God, assuring me that the One who brings His first rays of light to creation is also bringing me a ray of light, a ray of hope, a ray of guidance. 

Do not miss the quiet before dawn. Admittedly, sometimes I do, but choosing to miss the lonely, quiet place of silence is dangerous. Henri Nouwen, in his book Out of Solitude says: "Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our lives are in danger. Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, without distance closeness cannot cure. Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our actions quickly become empty gestures."

Where is that place of "somewhere?

The answer lies in the words of the Advent reading:

"God wants to open the heart before it opens itself to the world; before the ear hears the innumerable voices of the day, the early hours are the time to hear the voice of the Creator and Redeemer. God made the stillness of the early morning for himself." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is In the Manger)

Open my heart, God, to your day and let me always show up as you wait for me in the stillness of the early morning.

Outrageous Love

Outrageous Love

And here we are again, starting the Advent season in 2025. I ask myself every year what is it about this season I love.  I love Advent because it is a faithful reminder in our Christian year that a perfect world is coming. We can look to our faith to find the certainty and hope that Advent offers.

And so I begin my own Advent by turning to Isaiah 65:17-25.

"See here, I am creating new heavens and a new earth - so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones any more. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation. Look! I will recreate Jerusalem as a place of happiness, and her people shall be a joy! And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and in my people; and the voice of weeping and crying shall not be heard there any more."

It goes on to say a baby will never die, people will live out their years, every person will dwell in a home, and there will be no hunger, disease, famine or strife. 

Heaven and earth will rejoice!

You will rejoice.

 I will rejoice. 

Walter Brueggeman in his Advent book, Celebrating Abundance, says the poem in Isaiah is outrageous. Outrageous in a good way.  He says "This new world of God is beyond our capacity and even beyond our imagination.  It just does not seem possible. In our fatigue, our self-sufficiency, and our cynicism, we deeply believe that such promises could not happen here...merely poetic fantasy."

But Advent begins and we discover the hope as we read again the passages from Isaiah. Hope for a perfect future. We won't even remember the pandemic or a frustrating election year - I know, that really is outrageous.

 We will never cry again.

 Outrageous.  

No more sorrow. 

Outrageous. 

I can hardly take it in.

 O Wondrous and Outrageous Love,

You came as a small child, helpless, defenseless, homeless... and yet your small hands flung the stars into space and cast planets into their orbits. You are outrageously wonderful.  You are making all things new and one day we will see you face to face. You whisper my name and invite me into your presence so that I might live forever with you. 

Thank you does not seem quite adequate. Amen

(Walter Brueggeman, Celebrating Abundance, Devotions for Advent; 2017. Westminster John Knox Press)

Small Signs of God - Day 26 Peace

 

Pondering The Path of Peace

 

They said we might have snow on Christmas Day!  Oh how I love a good snow.  The magic of quiet snow falling during Christmas - oh, just the thought of it takes me back remembering Christmases in Kentucky on my snow-covered hill – the wonder, the beauty, the silence. 

It can happen anywhere that the heart makes room.

In January of 2008 Atlanta was covered in a beautiful blanket of snow.  I couldn’t resist but to take a few pictures in the garden that now looked so fresh and new even in the bleak  winter of a great sadness.  St. Francis looked especially peaceful and content with a white cap warming his head.  His presence standing strong there in the garden offered me a new appreciation for the man who gave up all of his worldly goods to be an instrument of peace during his life.

After visiting his birthplace and the city for which he is named, I came home and disciplined myself to memorize one of his prayers – maybe the one for which he is most remembered.  Let’s see if I can say it for you:

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

 What strikes me today is that in the first line, the prayer asks the Lord to make me an instrument of HIS peace.  I may not ever find my own peace and that is what we ponder so much, trying to make sense of life and its ups and downs.  But I can, in the midst of pondering offer to be used – to be an instrument of God’s peace – the peace that we seldom understand, but that we have been freely given through the one who came at Christmas.

Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you: my peace I give you.  I do not give as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

I confess that I am not always the peacemaker.  I do not always sow love, pardon, faith, or hope.  Sometimes I am dark and sometimes I am sad and lonely even though my home is filled with abundance.  That’s why I have memorized the prayer and it is amazing the times during the day when the words come to remind me “sow hope, sow love, understand, pardon.”

 Peace.

I know that Christ wants to infuse peace into all of us.  He said so.  His peace.  Not the peace of a quiet snowfall.  Not the peace of singing Silent Night holding a candle. But the opening of our souls to receive Him in our hearts – to take on his characteristics of love and forgiveness, of  gentleness and hope and of purpose.  But in this age of “it’s all about me” we find it hard to acknowledge our utter neediness and we simply just don’t need Jesus – or very much of him.   

This Season of Epiphany, open yourself to receive the peace that Jesus brings –now, from eternity past, and forevermore.  And in return, offer yourself as an instrument of that kind of peace.  

Knowing peace is the gift above all gifts. 

Small Signs of God - Day 25 A Child's Birth

 Day 25 - Christmas Day

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

The powerful silence of Christmas morning says "Peace, I am here." 

I smile and rest in that knowledge. Somehow, the world, in spite of great turmoil,  rests as well. Even as the day comes alive, people are kinder, quieter with the knowledge that today....today, something is different. 

I feel it.

Maybe because I believe it. I believe that peace begins with me. I believe angels sing and stars dance. I believe in Wise Men and a virgin birth. I believe Jesus is the coming of God to earth. I believe He will come again.  Today is Christmas and I welcome it and I reread the story:

^"This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." (Matthew 1:18-25)

"Christmas is saying 'yes' to something beyond all emotions and feelings. 

Christmas is saying "yes" to a hope based on God's initiative, which has nothing to do with what I think or feel. 

Christmas is believing that the salvation of the world is God's work and not mine. 

Things will never look just right or feel just right. If they did, someone would be lying...But it is into this broken world that a child is born who is called Son of the Most High, Prince of Peace, Savior."(Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Road to Daybreak)

Savior who has been born to us,

              draw us to you this day and all days

                  until we see you face to face.

Small Signs of God - Day 24 Journey

 

    December 24 - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve. A day to celebrate our journey of Advent. Even before getting out of bed, the gift of the train's whistle arrived through the quiet winter air calling me, saying, "Get ready. The journey is complete. Just get on board. Just thank the Lord."

It seems everything I read this morning has the theme of the journey. Wise men traveling their slow journey across the desert.  Shepherds following a star. Family members arriving to be welcomed home. And we, too,  have traveled together, writing and reading, as our hearts have journeyed to prepare for this Coming - this Advent. And I must ask myself as you must, "Am I different this year?"

Listen to Henri Nouwen's thoughts:

"God came to us because he wanted to join us on the road, to listen to our story, and to help us realize that we are not walking in circles but moving towards the house of peace and joy. This is the great mystery of Christmas that continues to give us comfort and consolation: we are not alone on our journey. The God of love who gave us life sent us his only Son to be with us at all times and in all places, so that we never have to feel lost in our struggles but always can trust that he walks with us...

Christmas is the renewed invitation not to be afraid and let him - whose love is greater than our own hearts and minds can comprehend - be our companion."  (Gracias! A Latin American Journal)

I love the thought of Jesus walking with us on our life journey. I love the idea that this is our greatest gift - a gift of love offered freely to all who will receive it. I love this annual "renewed invitation" for opening the gift again, receiving it with greater acceptance and deeper humility with each passing year.

As with any journey, we must gather up our traveling things and prepare for our destination. Today, tonight, let us make room for this wondrous event. Let us witness angels singing and stars dancing in the night sky.

"Into this silent night

as we make our weary way

we know not where,

just when the night becomes its darkest

and we cannot see our path,

just then

is when the angels rush in,

their hands full of stars."

(Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem)

Jesus Is Here To Stay

December 23rd

"I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."                                    Matthew 28:20

 This morning, I sit by the tree that has adorned my living room for three short weeks. I light some candles and sit in this peaceful spot of quiet and greenery and flickering light. Our Advent journey of preparation is almost complete. 

It is getting quiet. There is less traffic.  Parties are over. The air is still.  Travelers are headed home for the holiday. Wrapped presents wait to be opened. The stores are showing signs of change, preparing for the "after Christmas" sale. 

Time - almost -  to clean up and put away until next year. Time to be still and know that  even as the signs of the season will one by one disappear, Jesus is here to stay.

Christmas is the first lesson of faith. Advent is the beginning of the Christian year. Soon we will be considering Lent. We will leave Jesus in the manger and follow him into his very brief three-year ministry and walk with Him to the cross and resurrection. And we will again acknowledge that as that season comes and goes, Jesus is still here to stay.

Month by month, we will move through our new year and be reminded through spring, summer and fall that life moves and we move with it. We will say good-bye to some we love. We will experience illnesses and trials of varying sorts. We will make mistakes. We will celebrate.  We will laugh and we will cry. We will ask "why" and retreat at times to ponder things too hard to understand. We will have to work to remind ourselves that Jesus is still here to stay.

Oswald Chambers says, "We mistake the joy of our first introduction into God's kingdom as His purpose for getting us there. Yet God's purpose in getting us into His kingdom is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus Christ means." (My Utmost for His Highest, December 23) 

And so when the twinkling stars are shielded by clouds and singing angels cannot be heard, we will know they are there - somewhere. Because we trust in the One who came that night in Bethlehem. We study and search and continue to learn to trust this amazing truth - Jesus is here to stay.

Emmanuel, you are with us and you are here to stay. Can I say that of any other earthly thing? But, of course, you are not earthly - you are God .