Advent Reflection: Be Glad!

Here is a brief reflection from Edwina Gateley. It was posted on Journey with Jesus.

Be Glad!

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel

(which means 'God is with us'). Isaiah 7:14

God is soaked
in our world.
God's Spirit
lives and breathes
in and through
all that is.

We are lost
only when we
do not understand
that God
is already with
and in
each one of us.

Our task is recognition
of God's initiative
to be at home in us—
acceptance
of God-With-Us.

Then we cannot but
be glad.

~ written by Edwina Gateley in There Was No Path So I Trod One (1996, 2013). Posted on Journey with Jesus. http://www.journeywithjesus.net/poemsandprayers/

Reflection: The Power to Transform

Here’s a thoughtful reflection on Luke 1:47-55 (Mary’s Magnificat).  It was written by Sara Miles.

A Hunger Beyond Food

(inspired by Luke 1:47-55)

“He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.” Luke 1:53

At the heart of Christianity

is a power that continues to speak to

and transform us.

As I found to my surprise and alarm,

it could speak even to me:

not in the sappy, Jesus-and-cookies tone

of mild-mannered liberal Christianity,

or the blustering, blaming hellfire

of the religious right.

What I heard, and continue to hear,

is a voice that can crack

religious and political convictions open,

that advocates for the least qualified,

least official, least likely;

that upsets the established order

and makes a joke of certainty.

It proclaims against reason

that the hungry will be fed,

that those cast down will be raised up,

and that all things,

including my own failures,

are being made new.

It offers food without exception

to the worthy and unworthy,

the screwed-up and pious,

and then commands everyone to do the same.

~ excerpted from Sara Miles in A Hunger Beyond Food. Posted on the Seed Publishers website.  http://www.seedspublishers.org/

Call to Worship & Prayer for Advent

Here’s a responsive call to worship and opening prayer inspired by Psalm 146 and Luke 1:46-56.  They were written by Joanna Harader, and posted on Spacious Faith.

Call to Worship

(inspired by Psalm 146 and Luke 1:46-56)

Our souls proclaim your greatness, O God.
And our spirits rejoice in you.
We will praise you as long as we live.
We will sing praises to you our whole lives long.
We will not trust in the powerful of this world,
But will trust in you–Creator of heaven and earth,
the One who gives food to the hungry,
the One who enacts justice for the oppressed.
Our souls proclaim your greatness, O God
As we worship you in this place,
As we light these candles in hope, peace, and joy.

Opening Prayer

Holy God of Joy,
We rejoice in the reality of who you are.

We live within the joy of your love for us.

Our contentment comes and goes.

Our happiness ebbs and flows.

Our feelings depend upon our circumstances,

our physical health, our brain chemistry.

But our joy is deeply rooted

in our identity as your beloved children.

And we give you thanks. Amen.

~ written by Joanna Harader, and posted on Spacious Faith. http://spaciousfaith.com/

Advent Prayer: For Justice

Here’s a pastoral prayer for Advent from Paul G. Janssen.

Advent Prayer

(inspired by Luke 1:39-45, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 57:7)

Lord our God,

you have revealed yourself as One

who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people;

In a world that looks away from injustice,

You cast your eyes on the destitute, the poor, and the wronged;

You have called us to follow you,

to preach good news to the poor,

to proclaim release for the captives

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed

and to proclaim the time of your blessing.

Be present with your church, Lord,

as we respond to your call.

Open our eyes to the downtrodden.

Fill us with compassion for the plight of the alien,

the refugee, and the immigrant.

Lead us into ministries that help orphans and widows.

Give us courage to block the paths of the ungodly

who exploit the poor.

Set us free from pious exercises

that prevent us from the true worship you choose:

Sharing bread with the hungry,

Sharing homes with the homeless,

Sharing clothes with the naked,

Sharing hearts with our own kin.

So may your justice roll down like waters,

your righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Lead our footsteps to stand with the poor,

that we might stand with you.

Have mercy, O God:

Scatter the proud,

Put down the mighty,

Lift up the lowly,

Fill up the hungry,

And send the rich away empty-handed.

Our Father, etc. ...

~ Paul G. Janssen, and printed in Prayerful Preparation: Living God, Renew Us. Published by the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and posted at http://wcrc.ch/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GC2017-PrayerfulPreparation-English.pdf. 

Call to Worship: Prepare the Way

Here’s a call to worship for Advent from Joanna Harader’s Spacious Faith website.

Call to Worship

(inspired by Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:3, Isaiah 40:3)

We come to prepare the way;
The way for Christ –
the hope of Christ, the peace of Christ –
to enter our world,
to enter our hearts.
We cry out together in the wilderness:
The kingdom of heaven has come near.
We come to be part of the light–
the light that shines in the darkness.

~ written by Joanna Harader, and posted on Spacious Faith. http://spaciousfaith.com/

Call to Worship: Wilderness

Here’s a call to worship for Advent from Ann Siddall and the Stillpoint Spirituality Centre and Faith Community.

Wilderness

We have wilderness and dry land

at the heart of Australia.

We may not venture into it very often

but we know it is there,

it has its place on our maps.

More familiar to us, however,

is the wilderness in our own hearts,

the empty spaces in our own lives,

the desert of longings

that engulf us at Christmas.

Wilderness is a hard place,

but also a place of beauty and grace,

revealed by its sunsets and sunrises,

the glow of ancient rocks,

the moon shining on the sand.

Do not be afraid

of the desert places in your life,

for it is here

that the Good News

may be heard most profoundly.

May it be so.

~ written by Ann Siddall, and posted on the Stillpoint Spirituality Centre and Faith Community website. http://stillpointsa.org.au/prayer/prayers-and-liturgies/

Advent Reflection: Working for Good

God is with us in our suffering,

loving us, walking with us, comforting us.

I do not believe God is the cause or author of such suffering,

I do not believe God “allows” bad things to happen.

I can’t imagine why God would “allow” us to suffer.

I believe in a God who is always working for good,

a God who is somehow able

to take horrible, rotten things

and create something out of the rubble.

God came into the world

amidst violence, oppression, and despair

and was able to bring life from that darkness,

and I believe that God is with each one of us

in our challenges and suffering,

comforting us and consoling us

and trying to bring good

out of that which was so bad.

And that is what I think makes God, God.

~ written by Loren Richmond. Posted on Worship Words. http://worshipwords.co.uk/

Advent Wreath Litany: Longest Night

Here’s an advent wreath litany for a Blue Christmas or Longest Night service during the Advent season. It was written by Tim Graves and posted on LiturgyBits.

Lighting the Advent Wreath

We look around us and feel so sad, worthless, and discouraged.
And you remain with us. 

[light first candle]

We look around and see unspeakable violence, terrorism and hatred.
And you see who humanity can become. 

[light second candle]

We look around and find ourselves sliding into anger and hatred.
And you remind us who we are. 

[light third candle]

We feel sorry for ourselves. We think something is wrong with us.
And you see the good within. 

[light fourth candle]

We look around us and see death and destruction.
But you see hope. 

[light Christ candle]

We look around and see greed, power seeking,

and fear having its day.

We are ready to give up on our human kindred.
But you never give up.

You promise that despite these tough times

you never give up on humanity.

~ written by Tim Graves, and posted on LiturgyBits. https://liturgybits.wordpress.com

Advent Prayer: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Here’s a responsive opening prayer or prayer of invocation for Advent from Joanna Harader’s Spacious Faith website.

Prayer of Invocation for Advent

O come, O come, Emmanuel–
God with us.
Come into our brokenness;
Come into our joy.
come into our captivity;
Come into our freedom.
Come into our fear;
Come into our compassion.
Our souls have had their fill.
Have mercy upon us, O God,
And come, O come, Emmanuel. 

~ written by Joanna Harader and posted on Spacious Faith. https://spaciousfaith.com/

Call to Worship: Advent 2A

Here’s a call to worship for the second Sunday of Advent, Year A. It was written by Ann Siddall, and posted on the Stillpoint Spirituality Centre and Faith Community.

Call to worship

(inspired by Romans 15: 4-13)

Gather around,

you are welcome here,

and you will hear Good News.

In a world

where there are so many

discouraging and negative voices

it is the God of encouragement

who will speak to you today.

The God of Jesus Christ.

So come in, relax,

let your tiredness roll away.

Lift up your hearts, and listen.

~ written by Ann Siddall, and posted on the Stillpoint Spirituality Centre and Faith Community website. http://stillpointsa.org.au/prayer/prayers-and-liturgies/

Opening Prayer: Prepare the Way

Here’s an opening prayer for Advent from Bruce Prewer.

Prayer of Invocation

(inspired by Isaiah 40:3-5, Mark 1:2-3, Luke 3:4-6)

Loving God, 

be to us as a bulldozer of the spirit.

Clear your road in us;

clear a path through the detritus of possessions and obsessions.

Thrust aside our divided aims and devious games.

Topple the ramparts of pride and the doubts that deride.

Make a highway on which Christ may come

and take possession of the whole territory of our being.  

To the glory of your name we pray.

Amen!

~ written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Home Page.  http://www.bruceprewer.com/

Confession: Path in the Wilderness

Here’s a prayer of confession for Advent from the Ministry Matters website.

Prayer of Confession

“Prepare the way of the Lord!

Make a straight road for him!”  Matthew 3:3

Holy and loving God,

we have dwelt in darkness

and preferred it to the light;

we have been proud of our accomplishments

and despaired over our shortcomings.

Smooth down the mountains of our pride,

and lift up the valleys of our doubts.

Open a path in the wilderness of our lives

that we might find our way to you again.

Refine us and prepare us once again

for life in your kingdom.

Hear our prayer, O Lord. Amen.

~ from First Sunday of Advent Prayers and Litanies, posted on the Ministry Matters website. www.ministrymatters.com/

Prayer Reflection: The Word

Here’s a thoughtful prayer reflection from Roddy Hamilton.

Advent Word

it is ancient
as old as the first word
for it is the first word ever
spoken by a God
who was feeling the divine voice
for the first time

its sound has taken many forms through
the ages, but it speaks
still, the single
truth it always has

some hear it beating swords into ploughshares
others hear it hammering spears into pruning hooks
and still others hear the
original word
that shaped these others
the first word:
the word,
love

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws. http://www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/mucky-paws

Opening Prayer for the Christmas Season

Here’s an opening prayer for the Christmas season from Grace Church in Ealing, London.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God,

It’s dark outside

and the nights are long.

We watch and wait with mounting expectation

for the coming of your son into the world.

We ease our waiting with the

blandishments of tinsel and tree.

We delight in their beauty,

but Lord, in our eagerness

guard our hearts from celebrating

the things we have made

instead of the gift you will give.

Amen.

~ from the website of Grace Church in Ealing, London. http://www.freshworship.org/

Advent Confession: Prepare the Way of the Lord

Here’s an advent confession inspired by Luke 3:4 (Isaiah 40:3, John 1:23, Mark 1:3). It comes from the Monthly Prayers page (now Weekly Worship) of the Christian Aid website.

Prayer of Confession for Advent

(inspired by Luke 3:4, Isaiah 40:3, John 1:23, Mark 1:3)

The voice of one comes 
crying out in the wilderness 
… prepare the way of the Lord.

A messenger prepares the way, 
transforming us like the refiner’s fire 
… calling us to account.

For the prophets of old have spoken, 
announcing the breaking open of the dawn 
… guiding our feet in the way of peace.

Merciful God forgive us… 
Forgive us when we are quick 
to point the finger at someone else. 
Forgive us when we put our heads down 
and ignore the cries of injustice. 
Forgive us when we presume to understand 
the complexity of issues that divide and distract 
the peoples of the land your feet once walked.

Merciful God... 
forgive us, heal us, 
encourage us and speak through us, 
that we may be transformed through the refiner’s fire, 
and the offerings of our hands and our hearts 
may prepare the way for the Christ child 
to be welcomed among us in peace.

~ originally posted on the Monthly Prayers page (now Weekly Worship) of the Christian Aid website. https://www.christianaid.org.uk/churches/weekly-worship

A Prayer for Advent

Here is an Advent prayer from Christine Jerrett’s blog (see link below).

Advent Prayer

God of mystery and miracles,

Your Word brings light into the dark places of our lives;

Your presence gives us strength to endure

when we are pushed beyond our own strength.

You find us in our lostness and,

with love beyond our imagining,

you lead us home.

All this you offer in and through Jesus Christ.

Yet, we resist you.

We resist loosening our tight grip on our lives.

We hesitate to trust you

for you may lead us where we do not want to go.

You know the places in our hearts

and in our minds

where we are well-defended

against your intrusions.

In this season of longing,

grant us grace to bring all that we are to you, O Christ

— all the broken places

— all the lost wanderings

— all the weariness from trying to live lives that are pleasing to you.

Hold them all in the fullness of your love.

Then, be born in us,

that we may find our home,

our life,

our joy

in You, Lord of light and love.

~ posted on Christine Jerrett. https://christinejerrett.wordpress.com/

Advent Litany: Christ is Alive

Here’s a responsive litany for the Advent season from Katherine Hawker’s Liturgy Outside website.

Advent Litany

Singing at a new baby’s birth

Weeping with a widower

Christ is alive, all the time.

May we have eyes to see.

Nagging the heart of the warrior

Pleading for mercy with the executioner

Christ is alive, all the time.

May we have ears to hear.

Holding the one with faltering steps

Pushing the reluctant prophet

Christ is alive, all the time.

May our imaginations envision.

~ written by Katherine Hawker and posted on Liturgy Outside. www.liturgyoutside.net

Christmas Reflection: The Hands of Joseph

Here’s a thoughtful reflection on the role of Joseph in the Christmas story. It was written by Catherine Alder and posted on Journey with Jesus.

The Hands of Joseph

(inspired by Matthew 1:18-22)

I see the hands of Joseph.
Back and forth along bare wood they move.
There is worry in those working hands,
sorting out confusing thoughts with every stroke.
“How can this be, my beautiful Mary now with child?” 
Rough with deep splinters, these hands,
small, painful splinters like tiny crosses
embedded deeply in this choice to stay with her.
He could have closed his hands to her,
said, “No” and let her go to stoning.

But, dear Joseph opened both his heart and hands
to this mother and her child.
Preparing in these days before
with working hands
and wood pressed tight between them.
It is these rough hands that will open
and be the first to hold the Child.

I see the hands of John,
worn from desert raging storms
and plucking locusts from sand ripped rocks
beneath the remnant of a Bethlehem star.
A howling wind like some lost wolf
cries out beneath the moon,
or was that John?
This loneliness,
enough to make a grown man mad.
He’s waiting for this, God’s whisper.
“Go now. He is coming.
You have prepared your hands enough.
Go. He needs your servant hands,
your cupping hands to lift the water,
and place his feet upon the path to service and to death.
Go now, John, and open your hands to him.
It is time.”

I see a fist held tight and fingers blanched to white.
Prying is no easy task.
These fingers find a way of pulling back to old positions,
protecting all that was and is.
Blanched to white. No openness. All fright.

But then the Spirit comes.
A holy Christmas dance begins
and blows between the twisted paths.

This fist opens
slowly,
gently,
beautifully,
the twisted fingers letting go.
Their rock-solid place in line has eased.
And one by one the fingers lift
True color is returned
And through the deepest of mysteries,
The holiest of holies,
O longing of longings

Beyond all human imagining
this fist,
as if awakened from Lazarus’ cold stone dream
reaches out to hold the tiny newborn hand of God.

~ written by Catherine Alder. Posted on Journey with Jesus. http://www.journeywithjesus.net/

Opening Prayer: Seeking Light

Here’s a responsive opening act of worship for the Advent season. It comes from Grace Church in Ealing, London.

Opening Call to Worship and Prayer:

Seeking Light

In this season of waiting, of longing,

of looking for you to come into our world

We are seeking light

[Light candles]

In our own lives

We are seeking light

In our neighbourhoods

We are seeking light

In our families

We are seeking light

In our work

We are seeking light

In Grace

We are seeking light

In our nation

We are seeking light

In our world

We are seeking light

In… [add your own longings]

We are seeking light

Seek and you shall find

Knock and the door will be opened

Ask and it will be given to you

Jesus Christ you are the light of the world

May we have eyes to see you

And ears to hear you

Come into our world today

Amen

~ from the website of Grace Church in Ealing, London. http://www.freshworship.org/

Call to Worship for the Start of Advent

Here’s a call to worship for the start of the Advent season. It was written by Ann Siddall and posted on the website of the Stillpoint Spirituality Centre and Faith Community (see link below).

Ann writes: “This call to worship requires the communion table to be empty as worship begins. During the prayer, purple material, a Bible, a candle, and a wrapped gift are laid on the table. And during the worship that follows a few moments of quiet space are left after the Bible reading, after the prayers of intercession, and before the Benediction and people are invited to stay in the silence with the words ‘And now in a few moments of quietness, let us watch and wait to honour the Christ who comes.’”

Advent Call to Worship

In the midst of frenzied shopping

and end-of-year weariness,

we spread out a purple cloth,

(a purple cloth is spread over the communion table)

read again the ancient stories,

(a Bible is placed on the table)

and light a candle in the darkness,

(a candle or an Advent wreath is placed and lit)

to celebrate a visitation.

Gathered here we declare our intention to live

as if the greatest gift in the world

were about to be placed into our hands

(a wrapped parcel is laid on the table),

and as if the Giver has understood

our deepest needs, our most heartfelt prayers.

Like Mary,

may we be surprised by our calling;

like Simeon and Anna,

may the years increase our faith;

like sleepy shift workers on a hillside,

may our eyes be opened;

like Joseph may we listen to our dreams;

for this season requires our creative imagination.

There is a Presence in our world that asks to be seen,

who will stay awake?

There is a coming to our world that seeks a welcome,

who will offer hospitality?

Even now Jesus Christ is moving towards us.

~ written by Ann Siddall, Stillpoint Spirituality Centre and Faith Community. Free for use in corporate worship, as long as the author and source are credited. Posted on the Stillpoint website. https://stillpointsa.org.au/