Of all the customs and traditions of Christmas, the creche or nativity set is my favorite. As a child, I remember my parents would have us slowly create the scene during the season of Advent. First, we would set up the stable, and then over time, my brothers and I added a cow, a sheep and shepherd, and then an angel. The last week of Advent, Mary and Joseph would take their places. The Three Kings were set up somewhere else in the house as they made their slow and solemn journey to Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve, a votive candle would be lit and placed in the scene, symbolizing Christ’s divinity. And then, finally on Christmas Day, the baby Jesus would make his entrance, lying in the manger at the center of it all.
We were enacting that the Incarnation, God-with-us, entered into life in a very concrete and material way. As the Gospel of John writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) Or, in Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, “God put on flesh and blood and moved into our neighborhood.” (The Message) That is a picture of a God who wants to get close to us. Think of God moving in as your next-door neighbor!
In fact, God is revealed in our neighborhoods and in our homes, in one another and in creation. Celtic Christian imagination brings this point home, literally. It has been said that the genius of Celtic spirituality is its ability to fuse together the unique time and place of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem with our own specific present. It teaches us that Bethlehem can become present wherever we are. (Ray Simpson, A Holy Island Prayer Book)
To illustrate that point, Patrick Thomas, a Welsh author and an Anglican priest, has written that in Welsh nativity scenes of the 19th and 18th centuries, whether it is a painting or a figurine set; a washerwoman, or laundress accompanies Mary, Joseph and Jesus at the manger. What a wonderful and beautiful thought, that God so loved the Holy Family that someone was sent to do the laundry!
On a more serious note, for the Welsh, God enters into the timeless story of the Holy Family by introducing a contemporary figure that they would recognize from their own culture–a working-class woman. It is interesting because a working-class woman of that period had about the same status as the shepherds did in Biblical times. One might romanticize shepherds but not working-class women. The Welsh people really understood who it was the Christ came for –the poor among their own communities.
I love the Celtic understanding that there need not be a division nor a separation between the rich and poor, the divine and human, the spiritual and material, the sacred and ordinary, the real and imagined, this time and former times. To illustrate the last point, in the Irish tradition, there is a tradition that St. Brigid accompanied the Holy Family as the midwife, never mind the degrees of centuries separation!
Intrigued by the Welsh tradition of bringing our lives into the nativity story, I engage in sacred play as part of my prayer. Over the years I have had a variety of nativity sets and I tend to favor indigenous ones. One of my favorite sets that I will use this year is from Africa. As I contemplated on how Christ is being born in my life this holy season, images of creation “danced in my head.” During the pandemic, I learned to pray and worship outdoors. I am grateful for my prayer time in nature.
This year, my nativity scene will include not only the Celtic expression of the elements of earth, air, wind, and fire; but it will also include more friends of the animal kingdom. In addition to the donkey and sheep, as I placed my turtle, my quail and my owl in the scene, I also gave thanks for St. Francis. He of course created the first living creche by bringing in sheep, a donkey and a real live baby into a church on Christmas Eve, centuries ago. St. Francis and many of the Celtic saints would appreciate a more inclusive representation of the animals at any manger scene, I am sure. And as an aside, in the movie, “Love Actually” a school Christmas pageant in England included two lobsters at the birth of Jesus! That feels like the Celtic imagination and inspiration jumping into the culture of our day. And it is good! It is another indication that Christ was born for all.
That a laundress accompanies the Holy Family in Welsh art means that the Holy Family and Christ accompanies us in all our life tasks as well. So, I wonder, how is Christ being born in your life or in your children’s and grandchildren’s lives? Who might stand with the Christ child and stand in for you at the manger this Christmas season? Might you find a creative way to illustrate that reality in your home so that your household nativity scene reflects your understanding of how God is among us now?
Perhaps, imagining being at the birth of Christ with the help of this meditation will spark your creativity:
“I open the stable door. I kneel before the infant. I worship with the shepherds. I adore the Christ child. I give my love with Mary and Joseph. I wonder at the Word made flesh. I absorb the love of God. I sing glory with the angels. I offer my gifts with the wise men; I have come from a land afar. I receive the living Christ. I hold Him in my hands. I go on my way rejoicing, glorifying and praising God.” (David Adam, The Open Gate)
For to us a Child is born. Let us rejoice and give thanks for the many ways that Christ is born again in our lives!
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Blue Christmas: A quiet, reflective service for those of us who are grieving, lonely, sad, not feeling particularly festive, or just in need of a time of quiet in the busy-ness of the season.
These words were on the poster we used to advertise our Blue Christmas services in Estes Park, Colorado at the church where I was the pastor from 2015-2020. The photo is of the communion table setup that Denise created for our Colorado services. As the community gathered each year in the sanctuary, they were thankful that they had permission to struggle and grieve or to simply “be still” in the midst of the “busiest time of the year.”
This year, or rather the past nineteen months (and counting), has been a challenge for our family. In August of 2020 we packed up our condo and moved from Colorado to Georgia where I began a new pastoral call. COVID made that journey “interesting” to say the least. We mourned not being able to say proper farewells to our church and friends in our small mountain town. Moving to a new community and trying to get to know parishioners when services were virtual and COVID was surging was challenging for both of us. And we had no idea what 2021 would hold for us as we watched the calendar change on December 31st, 2020.
In January Denise lost one of her closest and dearest friends to cancer. The day after we went to Joyce’s graveside, Denise’s former mother-in-law Betty (who remained a very close and dear friend) fell in her apartment. That began a long and difficult seven-month journey for Betty and her family. At the end of July, my dad George fell and was admitted to the hospital with a serious UTI. We immediately drove to Minnesota to see him in the hospital and assist him with his transition to rehab. Denise decided to stay behind to help dad, to support him, and to be his advocate. We had to leave him in mid-August when Denise’s father Roland had a serious stroke and was hospitalized and sent to rehab. Betty passed away on September 1st and Roland passed away on September 16th. Between those two trips we went back to Minnesota to move dad from rehab into memory care. He spent two miserable weeks there. Finally, we drove back to Minnesota and were able to get dad moved out of memory care and back into assisted living. Over the course of caring for our dads and burying Betty we drove over 14,000 miles (our dog Pixie was our constant companion on the road).
In October, Denise began the slow process of clearing out the three apartments that her dad had rented and filled up with paperwork, furniture, food, and other assorted things. She is gone four days a week as she works hard to settle his estate and sort through paperwork and possessions. This has been incredibly difficult for both of us. In the middle of this journey and while Denise was in Alabama, on November 9th our precious Pixie died of congestive heart failure. Denise and I were and still are heartbroken.
Denise recently wrote these words as she reflected on this season in our lives and Christmas. “As we reflect on the past twenty-one months, we have both realized just how exhausted we are by all that has happened and what continues to unfold in our lives. It has been a challenge for me to look beyond our own situation in life to see the light and hope in this season. Winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere seems to be an appropriate time to pause, worship, and remember the birth of the one who recognizes our pain and sorrow, who knows what it feels like to be tired, angry, stressed, pulled in multiple directions, deserted, frazzled, and all the other emotions we may be feeling as Christmas approaches. Blue Christmas gives us permission to struggle and acknowledge that this may not be ‘the happiest season of the year.’”
“Christmas seems to be getting lost in the piles of life. Not life as in, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life’ (John 14:6 NRSV) but life as in, life is hard and messy and exhausting. Jesus’ birth like any birth was hard and messy and exhausting. Christmas is hard and messy and exhausting.”
I have been reflecting on the experiences of the holy family during this Advent season. Sitting in silence with Mary and Joseph, I imagine the difficulty and messiness they experienced throughout their lives. I also heard the message of hope that their son Jesus would later share with the world. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NRSV) Blue Christmas offers us a chance to share our burdens with the Lord and with each other. Dear reader, as you reflect on the longest night, may “the light that shines in the darkness” (John 1:5 NRSV) guide you through this season, and every day and night of the year.
I wrote an article during our “lockdown Christmas” last year about my feelings regarding winter and slowing down. I also wrote an article in 2017 about the Winter Solstice and how the sun stands still for the few days from solstice to Christmas day. So it looks as if I have a bit of an affinity with this time of year.
I do love the roll into winter. I love the ways the days get rapidly shorter and I have to rethink my dog walking times–because by 4 pm it isn’t fun to walk around the park. Though I also love that if I can get out before 7:30 am, I can watch the sun rise over the trees in the park. This is a time when I just pray out loud giving glory to God. Christine talked about the Wow factor of Advent and for me, every sunrise is a “Wow!” factor.
This morning I was blown away starting my walk lit only by street-lighting, then seeing the clouds start to get tinged with light and come into definition. Even though the sun still hadn’t fully risen by the time I got home, the world had come into definition. That to me is so awesome. It truly is “new every morning” and I can then remember “Great is his faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23). So no matter my mood when I start my walk I come to a place of being with God and giving my morning over before I return home.
I noticed this last year and again this year, people are putting their outdoor Christmas lights on earlier and earlier. I know it has been said that because of the pandemic and other things, life is bleak so people need lights; but the posts by Liz of Pocket Fuel have made me think. In the daily emails for the first week of December, she explored how we seem to no longer embrace the darkness as our ancestors would have and how from that we miss out on things – like trusting God in the darkness.
It got me thinking about how our ancestors, and I’m talking pre-Industrial revolution, would use the winter season as a time for gathering the family, of sharing the tales that made up their culture. This is when the stories were retold about heroes, monsters, family history, how the earth came into being, etc. But now we have made the winter, especially this run-up to Christmas, so busy–whether that is rushing round buying, partying, Church services, etc. It is all busy, busy, busy, when in fact our bodies are crying out for us to slow down and the next generation needs to hear our stories, our history, our faith tales.
I am lucky in that in my freelancing work I have been healed of the need to see planning and money as the driving force and have moved more into trusting God to provide so I am more able to roll with the seasons and the daylight hours. But I still have had to think through how not to get sucked into being busy in church, feeling guilty for not saying Yes to everything, for making a quieter way. It isn’t easy. It is countercultural. It takes focus, but I am trying.
So as I allow this season and this shortest day to enfold me I listen to my heart – because it is my heart that connects me with God – and then ask my heart what it is thinking and feeling. I breathe and pray and then feel safe. I want to learn all this so I can take the slowness of the darker season into the spring and summer.
Picture by myself of the view on one of my dog walks at about 7:30 am
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We are now in the last week of Advent. Yesterday we lit the fourth Advent candle, the Peace or Angel’s candle, and now we wait in joyful expectation for the celebration of the birth of Christ once more. The question is, “To where will we welcome him?” Do we really want him moving into our homes or is easier to relegate him to the stable, to see him as an outsider, not really part of the family? Seeing Jesus in an out-of-the-way place where disreputable people like shepherds can come to worship without us having to worry about them messing up our homes makes life easy for us. We get that glow that tells us Jesus is here, but there is very little commitment required of us.
According to New Testament theologian Kenneth Bailey in his wonderful book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Middle Eastern cultures are known for their hospitality and Joseph was coming home with a new wife and an expected first child so there is no way they would have been relegated to the stable. The whole family was gathering, aunts and uncles, cousins and brothers and sisters. All of them coming home. Yes, there was a census that brought them together–but in a fun-loving culture like this, it would not have diminished the welcome or the excitement of a homecoming gathering. The expectation of a baby to be born in their midst would only have increased the excitement.
As Kenneth Bailey explains, the Greek word (katalyma or kataluma) translated as inn in Luke 2:7 does not mean a commercial building with rooms for travelers. It’s a guest space, typically the upper room of a common village home.
“A simple village home in the time of King David, up until the Second World War, in the Holy Land, had two rooms—one for guests, one for the family. The family room had an area, usually about four feet lower, for the family donkey, the family cow, and two or three sheep. They are brought in last thing at night and taken out and tied up in the courtyard first thing in the morning.
“Out of the stone floor of the living room, close to family animals, you dig mangers or make a small one out of wood for sheep. Jesus is clearly welcomed into a family home,” See the entire article here
It was to this simple village home that the shepherds and Wise Men alike came. Shepherds despised and regarded as unclean by their society, are visited by angels and invited to join the great homecoming celebration that marks the arrival of the child who will become the Messiah. That they were welcomed and not turned away from this home is remarkable. This is good news indeed for the outcast and the despised.
Then the Wise Men come, according to Bailey–rich men on camels, probably from Arabia. And they come not to the city of Jerusalem where the Jews thought God’s glory would shine, but to the child born in a manager around whom there is already a great light. The Wise Men come to find a new home; a new place of belonging that has beckoned to them across the world. This too is remarkable and good news for people of all nations who long for a place to call home.
Bailey tells us that the birth stories of Jesus “de-Zionize” the Messianic traditions. Hopes and expectations for the city of Jerusalem are fulfilled in the birth of the child Jesus. (p54)
The new family, the community that will be formed around this child, does not look to the earthly Jerusalem as its home, but to the heavenly Jerusalem which will come down from heaven as a gift of God at the end of history. (Revelation 21:1-4). And it is to this home, a place with no more tears, or oppression or starvation that all of us are beckoned by the birth of Christ.
I love this imagery. Even in the birth of Jesus we are called towards a new family and a new home. There are family and friends and animals. And special invitations by angels for the despised and rejected, and a star to guide the strangers and those who seem far off. The new family and the home envisioned in the birth of Jesus is inclusive of all who accept God’s invitation.
On the third Sunday of Advent, when we lit the joy candle, our rector Father Rich Weyls reminded us that “joy requires us to hold onto the reality of the world’s brokenness in one hand and the love of God in the other”. To rejoice, he said, “is to lean into the longing for God’s perfect shalom to break into our suffering world and make things right, a longing that compels us to participate in God’s good work and that drives us to anticipate and enact shalom everywhere we can while also admitting our desperation, our helplessness, and need for a saviour.” (Listen to his sermon here )
What will it take for us to really lean into the longing for God’s perfect shalom to break into our suffering world and welcome Jesus into our homes this Christmas season?
Let’s recognize Jesus as a part of our family.
I have friends who always leave an empty chair at the dinner table when they hold a festive meal. It is a symbol of the fact that Jesus is the unseen guest at all our meals, the family member who is always present even when we cannot see him. It makes me wonder if at this time of year we should set up the manager in the centre of our dining room tables in preparation for the birth of a baby into our families, a constant reminder that Jesus came to be a part of our family and welcome us into God’s eternal family.
Let’s be willing to invite all those who come with him.
They too are part of our family. We cannot welcome Jesus without also extending our hand of welcome to those who gather round the manger – the disreputable and despised, the foreigners and aliens.
These days when a baby is born many young couples keep it cloistered away for the first couple of months, afraid that it will be exposed to germs that it has no immunity to. Most parents would certainly not welcome those who came to see Jesus – first the animals and then the homeless shepherds who slept in the fields at night. Who do we exclude from our families because we are afraid they will contaminate us and the babies in our midst?
I love the French custom of santons, in which clay models of villagers are positioned around the manger bringing their gifts to the Christ child. Imagine all our neighbours, those we enjoy and those we don’t want to have anything to do with, clustered around the manger, invited into that place of intimate hospitality with God. I encourage all of us to consider creating our own “santons” this Advent and Christmas season, santons of words, photos, and actions, not figures of clay.
Emma Morgan adapted this idea for her church in Australia. You can read her account of what she did here
I am more convinced than ever that it matters a lot where we think Jesus was born, who was with him and how we relate to him.
What is Your Response?
Sit and think about what kind of Jesus you are waiting for this Advent season. Visualize this baby being born into your family. How would this baby be welcomed? Who would be welcomed with him? Who would not be welcomed into the family circle around him?
So as we light this candle of Advent, the candle of hope, listen to Kathy Troccoli as she encourages us to go light our world because–as she says–we are a family.
(This post is adapted from this post I wrote several years ago after reading Kenneth Bailey’s book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes). His book continues to impact me and I love to repost this regularly.
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Breath prayers, scripture readings, walking meditations, creative and contemplative activities, and unstructured time for quiet reflection help us rekindle the wonder of Advent. Enjoy the wonderful opportunity for inner reflection and renewing silence that this free downloadable Advent retreat invites us into as the season of prayerful expectation unfolds.
This retreat is best done with a group—so gather with friends or family, or a church small group.
A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756 with additional notes below:
“Magnificat” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus” Written for The University Of Notre Dame Folk Choir by Steven C.
Warner, released on the album “Prophets of Joy”
Copyright 1996 World Library Publications
“Kyrie” Text and music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“I Wonder as I Wander” Public domain American folk hymn
Arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Thank you for praying with us! www.saintandrewsseattle.org
Companions of Brother Lawrence Worship for Advent December 2021: A special guest post compiled by Margery Tate
Advent opening prayer
Holy God, we long for your peace, and trust in your promise.
We hear your call to turn towards you, to change our lives and welcome you in.
Holy God, meet us here and fill our minds with your wisdom and our hearts with your peace. In the name of the one who is coming. Amen. (Rev. Susan A. Blain)
Light a candle of hope.
As we light our candle of hope we remember that the light of Christ shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out.
H is for humble.
In this season of Advent we come to you humbly as we wait in hope.
We place our hope in you O Holy one.
O is for ordinary
In this season of Advent help us to pay attention to the ordinary things that have the power to transform the world in extraordinary ways.
Remind us again how ordinary humanness and extraordinary God come together in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
P is for prepare.
In this season of Advent, we decorate our homes and churches in preparation for your arrival.
We pray that you will help us to prepare the way for you.
in our lives and in our world.
E is for expectant.
In this season of Advent, all of creation waits for you with longing and expectation.
We worship you and open our hearts in joyful expectation.
(Rev. Katelyn B. Macrae, Richmond CC Vermont)
Reading – Pregnant with hope by Kate McIlhagga
Now is a time of watching and waiting
a time pregnant with hope
a time to watch and pray.
Christ our advent hope,
bare brown trees, etched dark across a winter sky,
leaves fallen, rustling, ground hard and cold,
remind us to prepare for your coming;
remind us to prepare for the time
when the soles of your feet will touch the ground,
when you will become one of us
to be at one with us.
May we watch for the signs, listen for the messenger,
wait for the good news to slip into our world, our lives.
Christ our Advent hope,
help us to clear the way for you:
to clear the clutter from our minds,
to sift the silt from our hearts,
to move the boulders that prevent us meeting you.
help us to make straight the highways,
to unravel the deception that leads to war,
to release those in captivity.
May sorrow take flight, your people sing a song of peace and hope be born again.
Hymn – O come, O come Immanuel
We say together the words of Brother Lawrence – Companions’ Prayer
O God here we are all devoted to you; make us according to your heart.
O God Thou art one make us one.
Spend a moment in God’s presence.
Be still.
Now mention our family, friends and others we know to be in need by name, holding them in our hearts and in the bright flame of God’s light and love.
Words of Brother Lawrence
I do nothing else but abide in his holy presence.
Let us pray together
On those days when we have cause to doubt your promises
come close to us Lord Jesus.
On those days when we long for safety at any price,
come close to us Lord Jesus.
On those days when we cry out for justice from the depths of our hearts,
come close to us Lord Jesus.
On those days when we are afraid to face the future,
come close to us Lord Jesus.
Pause for a moment in God’s presence
Today you have come close to us Lord Jesus, abide with us and in us.
We are filled with hope, knowing your light will shine in the darkness.
Help us to share your love and your light with all we meet in the days ahead. Amen.
Give the Gift of Wonder this holiday season! Our newest virtual retreat experience, Walking in Wonder Through Advent, is partly inspired by but separate from The Gift of Wonder. Rekindle the wonder of the Advent season; experience renewal in an online course at your own pace. Look beyond the Advent season with our other Gift of Wonder resources! Explore what childlike characteristics shape us into the people God intends us to be. Be encouraged to develop fresh spiritual practices that engage all our senses and help us to live a new kind of spiritual life that embraces the wonder and joy that God intends for us. Embrace the gifts of Awe and Wonder; gifts that sustain us, practices that are relevant and important in these times. Find it all in our shop!
words and music by Carol Dixon
John 1 v 1-5; 9-14 [English Revised Standard Version]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of all people.. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
One of my favourite Advent Bible passages is the beginning of John’s gospel above – The Word of God becoming a human being. I love the idea of God, the Creator of the Universe communicating with creation, speaking the Earth into being. Then when the creatures he had given life to failed to hear, sending part of himself as a living Word to humanity as a tiny baby so that God could speak to us in a language we would all understand.
Some years ago when I worked as the Moderator’s secretary for the Northern Synod of the United Reformed Church I wrote an Advent hymn based on John chapter 1 and it was sung during the opening worship at the very first Ecumenical Synod in the UK which we were hosting. During each verse of the hymn representatives from all the denominations processed into the hall carrying different symbols – Bible, Candle, Bread, Wine, Cross, etc and finally the Synod banner covered with embroidered squares from every United Reformed Church in the area. It was a very powerful and moving experience.
‘In the beginning’ is an ‘echo’ song with a cantor and congregation (as it was sung originally) but it works equally well as a simple song with 2 voices. I hope you enjoy singing it this Advent.
Listen to the song below:
featured photo by Unsplash ©Greg Rakozy @grakozy
Breath prayers, scripture readings, walking meditations, creative and contemplative activities, and unstructured time for quiet reflection help us rekindle the wonder of Advent. Enjoy the wonderful opportunity for inner reflection and renewing silence that this free downloadable Advent retreat invites us into as the season of prayerful expectation unfolds.
This retreat is best done with a group—so gather with friends or family, or a church small group.
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Thank you for supporting Godspace in this way.
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