by Christine Sine
I was looking back through my Advent posts from last year and realized that somehow the litany for the first week of Advent never got posted. I realize this is a little late but for those who are looking for something for a midweek service it might be useful. Links for coming weeks of Advent are at the end. These all come from Waiting for the Light
Litany for the First Week of Advent
The advent of the Lord is near.
New light dawning where there has been darkness.
The advent of the Lord is near.
New hope reigning where there has been death and despair.
The advent of the Lord is near.
New light, new hope, new life for all creation.
Pause for lighting of the Advent candle
This is a season of preparation,
We prepare for Christ who broke the barriers between us and God, each other and God’s creation,
We wait with repentant hearts to prepare the way of the Lord,
This is a season of watchfulness,
We watch for the One who heard our cries and shared the suffering of our world,
We wait in anticipation for God’s light to penetrate the darkness and shine within us,
This is a season of promise,
We wait for the promised coming of Emmanuel, God with us, God for us, God in us.
We wait in hope for our Redeemer to bring God’s love into our broken world,
This is a season of reflection,
We expect to be transformed so that we can serve in God’s kingdom as bearers of light.
We wait expectantly for God’s Savior to come and dwell in our midst,
This is a season of fulfillment,
We await the promise of God’s kingdom: wholeness, reconciliation and plenty for all.
We wait for God’s covenant to be fulfilled, for God’s kingdom to come in its fullness,
This is a season of joyful anticipation,
We anticipate the day when God’s glory will be revealed to all people together.
We wait expectantly attentive to all the signs of Christ’s coming.
Read scriptures for the day from daily lectionary
Lord whose light shines in the darkness,
Have mercy upon us,
Christ whose birth gives hope to all creation
Have mercy upon us,
Lord whose advent brings joy and love,
Grant us peace.
Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food for today, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Into our troubles and weaknesses,
Into the barren places of our souls, Come Lord,
Come down, come in, come among us and make us whole.
Into the war torn and the refugee,
Into those who live in conflict, Come Lord,
Come down, come in, come among us and make us whole.
Into the homeless and the unemployed,
Into those who feel abandoned, Come Lord,
Come down, come in, come among us and make us whole.
Into the sick and the disabled,
Into those with COVID and cancer and depression, Come, Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and make us whole.
Into the poor and the starving,
Into those who are oppressed or abused, Come Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and make us whole.
Into the lives of loved ones,
Into those from whom we are estranged, Come Lord,
Come down, come in, come among us and make us whole.
Into our joys and celebrations,
Into our work and our achievements, Come, Lord
Come down, come in, come among us and make us whole.
Pause for participants to offer specific prayers and thanksgivings to God
Lord we long for your coming. Hasten the day when those who seek you in every nation will sit at you table. Hasten the day when suffering, pain, sickness, oppression and death will be overcome forever. Hasten the day when we will be resurrected as a multicultural family and live in peace, harmony, joy and love together in your kingdom.
Calm us to wait for the gift of Christ;
Cleanse us to prepare the way for Christ;
Teach us to contemplate the wonder of Christ;
Touch us to know the presence of Christ;
Anoint us to bear the life of Christ. AMEN
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Advent Litany for the Second Week of Advent
by Christine Sine
It is easy for us to grab hold of the traditional symbols of Advent that encourage us to settle in and be comfortable rather than preparing us for unexpected changes. And I must confess I do love having some of those around. Celebrating the first Sunday of Advent at church on Sunday with the lighting of the first Advent candles on the wreath was one of the highlights of my week.
However I love to look for the unexpected symbols that unsettle me and keep me ready for the kinds of change that I think Advent challenges us to. I am still working on my Advent garden, hoping that it will provide some of these symbols, but in the meantime I need other untraditional and unexpected images of Mary to move me into the right frame of mind at this season.
The image above, an abbey altar piece know as The Visit of the Angels and painted between 1390 and 1400 is of Mary knitting. It is unsettling because she is doing something mundane and everyday when the angel Gabriel comes to her. Yes I know this is not really a part of the Advent story because it occurs 9 months before Jesus’ birth and is celebrated at the Feast of the Annunciation. However we have a tendency to think of it as part of the Advent story. Reflecting on this image makes us realize Mary is not some extraordinary woman called by God because she has strange super powers but an ordinary teenage girl living on the margins of the empire – vulnerable, and probably as uncertain as any teenager today.
This is a beautiful image to reflect on as we think about the unexpectedness of the Advent story. What catches your attention? What unsettles you? In what ways does it help prepare you for the unexpected ways that Jesus will be birthed in your heart and your life this Christmas?
Over the last few years I hav been attracted to several other unexpected images – the sculpture of Mary, with a loving Jesus behind her that I discovered and wrote about in my post Is Joseph the Unsung Hero of the Advent Story
Kenneth Bailey’s suggestion that Jesus was born in a family home and not in a stable. This is one idea that really unsettled me several years ago. I wrote about it in my post Was Jesus Really Born in a Stable and Why Does it Matter.
These images have all helped me to ready myself for the unexpected ways that Jesus comes to us at this season. What helps you get ready?
by Christine Sine
As Advent begins Tom and I have pulled out our Advent music. One of my favourite Advent hymns is Come Thou Long Expected Jesus with music by by Rowland H. Prichard and lyrics are by Charles Wesley. However this year I find myself singing Come thou unexpected Jesus. The Jews were waiting for a Messiah but not one like this. Nothing about the birth of Jesus was what they expected: at the centre is Mary who conceives as an unwed teenager, Joseph who accepts a child not his own and Elizabeth who welcomes and supports her cousin through what must have been a harrowing first few months of her pregnancy. All of them living at the outskirts of the empire unknown by the priests and rulers in Jerusalem, unimportant in the political and religious scene of the day.
Good reason for Mary to be afraid when the angel Gabriel comes to visit. Her world, in fact the whole world was about to be changed and she was centre stage.
Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Grace to you, young woman, for the Lord is with you[w] and so you are anointed with great favor.” Mary was deeply troubled over the words of the angel and bewildered over what this may mean for her. 30 But the angel reassured her, saying, “Do not yield to your fear, Mary, for the Lord has found delight in you and has chosen to surprise you with a wonderful gift. ( Luke 1:28 – 30.TPT )
Advent disrupted everything in the life of Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth. It should disrupt everything in our lives too as we look in hope and anticipation towards the coming of the One through whom God and the entire creation will one more be fully united.
So often we hope for change in our lives and our world, wanting to see that better world of God’s promises come into being, but when God suggests that we could be the instruments of that change we draw back afraid to step out of our comfort zones. We want change to happen without us needing to do anything. After all we are small and insignificant players in God’s plan. How could we possibly be the instruments of change that God is looking for?
As I wait with Mary for the birth of Jesus this Advent season I look around at a world that desperately needs change. We face a climate crisis that will devastate our world if we don’t make radical changes to our lifestyles. We face political upheaval and economic turmoil in ways that I have not seen before in my lifetime. It is easy for fear and anxiety to rear their ugly heads and hold us captive.
God comes to all of us in so many unexpected ways asking us to be the change the world needs to see. I think that Mary , in some ways, represents all of us – unsettled by what God’s messengers have said, yet needing to embrace our call to be instruments of change without yielding to our fears. We do indeed need to make room for Christ to be born afresh in our hearts and in our lives this year in ways that can help change our world.
So what do we do during this season of waiting?
- Listen to the angels. We may not have heavenly visitors come to us but there are other messengers that God is sending to help us find our way to the Messiah – environmentalists like Greta Thunberg, activists like Jim Wallis and contemplatives like Richard Rohr who know that there needs to be change in the world and call us to be the instruments of that change. Who are the angels who are messengers of change and new birth for you?
- Look for the Elizabeths. When God calls who do we run to? All of us need supporters like Joseph and Elizabeth who can help keep God’s dreams alive during the seasons of hard waiting that we face. Who are the ones that support you and encourage you when God’s call comes and you are afraid?
- Don’t be afraid of the unexpected. Like Mary we need to be willing to be instruments of change without yielding to our fears and anxieties. God finds delight in all of us and promises us a special gift – not necessarily a baby born in a manger but a fresh touch of the divine presence born in our hearts and in our minds. Are we willing to let go of our expectations for this season and allow God to reveal something new to us?
What Is Your Response?
Sit quietly and prayerfully read through the prayer above. Now close your eyes and listen to the song below. Instead of long expected Jesus read unexpected Jesus. What comes to your mind? Is there something unexpected that God is wanting to give birth to in you this year? What is one action step you could take as Christmas approaches to make this possible?
NOTE: The prayer above is one of the Advent prayers available in our new set of Advent prayer cards. Today the digital versions are available at a discount price.
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By Carol Dixon —
In the dark days at the beginning of December, I venture out into our garden (usually my husband’s domain) and look out for little green shoots appearing. It may seem an odd time of year in the chilly county of Northumberland in northern England to be looking for new growth in the garden but this small plant with its glossy green foliage for me heralds the start of the Advent/Christmas season. Once I see the dark leaves I know that later in the month a special flower will bloom with pure white petals, described in one of my favourite carols from Germany ‘Es ist ein Ros entsprungen’ (known in English as ‘There is a rose growing’)
I first sang this carol as a teenager at the girls’ grammar school I attended almost 60 years ago and I was fascinated by the idea of a Christmas Rose. We now have one in our garden which blossoms between Christmas and new year – a wonderful memory of our 17 year old niece who was killed on the last day of the year in 1998. Although the hymn and the poem seem more pertinent in the Northern Hemisphere where Christmas falls in midwinter I find it a great consolation to remember in all the wintry seasons of our lives, whatever time of year, that God, who became one of us, is with us at all times, everywhere. One of my favourite versions of the hymn is the version by Nana Mouskouri.
A rose Arose Hymn – From the 15th century Carol ‘Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen’
In the dark recesses
of winter world
a sleeping seed
germinates.
Cocooned within
the womb, a foetus
flexes fragile fingers
tipped with tiny nails;
birth beckons;
a journey begins:
darkness gives way
to light.
Hidden in the humus
of a stable yard,
a simple rose grows
and, on Christmas morning,
blossoms.
Christmas Prayer
You came as a baby, Lord,
as a little helpless child
who relied on a human family
to care for him.
You cried because you were hungry,
because you were homeless,
because you were a stranger
far away from home.
You still cry with hunger, Lord,
in the voices of the many starving;
your tears still flow for the homeless,
the lonely and the forgotten;
you still rely on human families
to care for you.
And so this Christmas, Lord, we pray:
help us to be the kind of people
who look for you in the world,
and joyfully discover you
as we care for one another.
By Lilly Lewin
The season of Advent starts on Sunday and many of us are also preparing for Christmas. We are decorating trees and homes with festive lights and greenery. We get ready with shopping, baking, sending cards and hosting parties. But how do we get our selves ready for the arrival of Jesus? As December begins how are you getting ready for the Baby King?
When you prepare for a baby you have to get a lot of stuff ready…the room, all the diapers, the car seat, all the special gear necessary. Your house changes, you have less space because the baby stuff takes up lots of room. Your focus changes. Whether you are adopting or hatching a baby, you begin to focus your life around this little person soon to arrive. And once that person arrives on the scene, you no longer need a TV because all you want to do is watch what he or she does. When a baby enters the world your time is no longer your own…now you have to think about the needs of someone else. You have to consider how what you do will affect the baby. Even before a baby is born the mom must consider what she eats, drinks and how she cares for herself.
What if we see the coming of Baby Jesus into our lives like this? Preparing for the arrival of a Baby!
Getting ready for a new arrival in our lives. Getting ready for a real baby.
What would this look like?
How do you make space for Baby Jesus?
How do you get ready for his birth into your world?
How do we prepare?
Do you have to get rid of stuff?
Do you need to add special gear?
Do you need to prepare mentally or change your attitude?
What does this look like?
Consider this today.
Talk to God about this.
How can you receive the gift of Jesus as a baby, a baby who needs your time and attention?
Are you and I willing to accept that gift?
What are you willing to do to get ready for Baby Jesus?
How are you willing to change your life in order to give baby Jesus the attention and care he needs?
Consider this today and in the days ahead this December.
Talk to God about how you can receive and prepare for Baby Jesus!
Here are a few ideas to help you Prepare for Him Room!
If you don’t have a baby in your world at the moment as a physical reminder, find something to remind you to make room in your life for Baby Jesus. Maybe it’s a sippy cup or a baby bottle on your desk or bedside table. Maybe it’s a baby blanket or toy. Use this symbol to help you make space in your life for the Baby Jesus this December.
Buy a bottle of baby lotion, the kind that smells, and put some on each day in December to remind you to receive and prepare for the Baby Jesus and his arrival.
Search for and listen to a favorite lullaby or children’s Christmas song to play during December to remind you the infant who is coming soon.
Volunteer to babysit for a friend or family member who has a baby. Give this gift to your friend and allow your time babysitting to remind you of the care and love Mary had for Baby Jesus.
Spend time in a rocking chair, imagining you are rocking the King of Kings as a baby.
All Babies need time and attention. Give Baby Jesus the time, attention and care that he needs this December and prepare Him Room this Advent.
This is one of the prayer stations found in the Christmas Incarnation Sacred Space Prayer Experience. You can download this at freerangeworship.com
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
by Christine Sine
Here in the U.S. it might be Thanksgiving but across the world, Sunday is the first day of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year. Many of us will set up our Advent wreaths, light our first Advent candle and begin to read our Advent devotionals. Some of us will buy Christmas trees and decorate them. Here on Godspace we will take a little different approach to the season.
As many of you know I am reading Heidi Haverkamp’s Advent in Narnia this year and have already been deeply impacted by her introductory words Lewis, by placing Christianity into another world, makes it unfamiliar again. He gives us the chance to feel a newfound wonder at the depth of God’s love, the power of Christ’s grace and the totality of his sacrifice and the wonder of a world infused with the Holy Spirit.
I love the idea of making Advent unfamiliar again and invite you to journey with us on Godspace into an unfamiliar story of Jesus birth. So often we look at Advent from the God side of the story – the angel Gabriel’s visit, virgin. birth, the choirs of angels singing at Christ’s birth. Or we think of the cultural images we see on Christmas cards – a beautiful looking stable surrounded by a few animals and very well dressed shepherds, This Advent we want to introduce you to an unfamiliar Jesus – the human story of unwed mothers, supportive cousins, and welcoming surrogate fathers. What does Advent look like through their eyes? What does it look like through Jesus eyes – this vulnerable possibly even despised and rejected child from birth?
We know very little about Jesus childhood and the characteristics he displayed but we do know quite a bit about his birth and those who surrounded and nurtured him. What we know should stir a lot of emotions and raise a lot of questions for us.
Why did God choose such a vulnerable young woman to give birth to the Messiah? How did Joseph feel? What was it like to be a refugee in his day and age? Jesus may have been vulnerable and possibly even rejected and despised from birth, yet he was obviously also loved not just by Mary but also by her husband Joseph who kept both of them safe through an arduous journey as refugees into Egypt. Were they part of a refugee caravan like we have seen moving across Mexico this year? How were they treated in Egypt?
It was writing The Gift of Wonder and and developing resources like Advent gardens that encouraged me to step outside the box into an unfamiliar view of Advent and in fact of the whole gospel story. The story of Jesus conception and birth raises some challenging questions for us. How can we become like THIS child and what his birth tells us about the God that we follow? Fully human yet fully God. Powerful yet vulnerable. Loved yet rejected. What does it mean to you?
Please join us on the journey and if you are still looking for advent devotionals or other resources consider using some of the Godspace resources. Many of them are especially written to help us think outside the box, enter the story as though for the first time and gain a fresh perspective of who Jesus is and who the God that we worship is too.
Last but not least we wanted to let you know that on Monday all our digital downloads will be available at a discount price. Some of these are perfect adjuncts to Advent reflections and I hope you will consider using them.
God bless you in this unsettling season of waiting as we move towards our remembrance of Christ’s birth.
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