Category: Advent Reflections
united
Today’s Advent Reflection brought to you by the Nearness Advent Study, page 12, paragraphs 3-5; and the NaHaiWriMo prompt word: love.
hopeful steps home
Today’s Advent Reflection inspired by A. Portier-Young’s Commentary on Isaiah 35: 1-10.
What looks like hope in times like these?
An Advent reflection on Romans 15: 4-13.
We exist in the
not-yet perfected state of creation
between present time and promised future.
We exist in the
pain of communal divide . . .
What looks like hope in times like these?
Hope doesn’t turn away
from the failures of community.
Hope does not force unity.
Hope is the call and response
of interwoven melodies . . .
God’s coming gift gives hope as harmony.
doves
prepare the way
A Christmas Request
Defend the cause
of the children of the needy
while the sun endures and the rain falls.
May peace abound till the moon be no more!
May all nations serve the poor and weak —
precious is their blood all the day!
There be abundance in the land —
people blossom, blessed in
God who does wondrous things.
Amen.
Developed in response to Psalm 72 using a “found poetry” approach. This is an interesting exercise in carving away the excess flourishes into the seed of the message. Read the whole Psalm 72 and ask — what key message do you take away from it this Advent season?
apology
promise
According to James Boyce’s Commentary, Matthew 24:36-44 is ripe for misunderstanding, especially if taken out of context to the whole gospel. He reminds us of the “amazing promises which frame” the book of Matthew, such as “they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us (1:23) and that “He will be with you always, to the end of the age” (28:20).
Much better than the scare tactics of the Rapture, or the arrogance of thinking one can “know” the actual day and time of the coming.
I especially like Mr. Boyce’s question to the reader: “How do you prepare for a promise? Promises by their very nature always come as a surprise . . . Such promises call us to watch . . . for what is already taking place in our midst . . . [and to not] be lulled to sleep in the seeming sameness or disappointing news of the world around us.”
Good advice — especially now. Watch for the helpers. Be a helper. Small acts lead to great things. What we focus on grows. That’s a hopeful thing to consider.
halved monarch
Today’s Advent reflections brought to you by words found in the ELCA Nearness Advent Study 2019 and the NaHaiWriMo prompt word: old masters.
commentary
Erasure poem created by Shannon M. Blood, 12.4.19.
Based on Susan Eastman’s 12.2.07 article Commentary on Romans 13: 11-14.
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