Some of you may remember that last year I started an Advent garden. I found it such a stimulus to my daily meditations that I encouraged you to join me in the practice this year. I have replanted the garden, repainted my signs and started with fresh candles. It now sits on my office desk as a reminder of the season. I am lighting the gratitude candle each day this week as a focus for my prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving. Next week I will add the hope candle then the peace candle, followed by joy and in the last week of Advent the candle that represents love.
I am also working on a Come to the Manger Wreath and am finding not just that it is drawing me closer to God but also to those whose photos I am adding to the wreath. I hope to unveil the wreath, at least in its initial stages tomorrow.
All of us need a focus for our reflections and prayers at this season and I think it is particularly helpful to have some symbol of the season that decorates our workplace or that travels with us. Here in the U.S. we are constantly barraged with images of the consumer culture and with Black Friday only a few days away the intensity of the onslaught is overwhelming. Images of our faith refocus us. When we have created those images ourselves they are even more powerful.
It is good for us to remember at this season that happiness does not come from what we have. According to Catherine Sanderson, the James E. Ostendarp Professor of Psychology happiness comes from exercise, giving to others and getting out into nature. Her number one recommendation for increasing happiness is to keep a gratitude journal something that I think is well worth emphasizing as we head towards Thanksgiving and then into Black Friday.
She also suggests that we figure out our strengths and find ways to use them, another great suggestion for the holiday season. What are the strengths you have that can be used at this season to bless and encourage the lives of others? Finding ways to use our time and our resources at this season to reach out to others is far more satisfying then spending it on ourselves. The success of my post What About Simplifying This Christmas tells me that I am not the only one who is disgusted with the commercialization of the season.
What are you doing to make this a more Christ centred, less commercial Christmas? What are the symbols you are using to focus your heart and your life on what really matters? I would love to hear from you. Our sharing so often helps others find a focus too.
Yesterday I drew this trinity spiral. I hesitated before I wrote Father on the stone because I know that for many of my friends calling God father speaks of a patriarchal God they are not willing to accept. I too have eagerly embraced non patriarchal images of God – Creator, Eternal One, Holy One being some of the terms I prefer.
This morning as I grappled with this I realized how often I leave my own father out of the picture and I wonder if I do the same with God. My own father was a violent and an unapproachable man. He had known little love in his own upbringing and I think was incapable of showing love to his family. We all lived in fear of his rages and leaving home was a way to escape the fear and the violence.
My early images of God were very much of an unapproachable Father, an emperor figure on a throne, distant and uninterested in the pain and suffering of humankind. Even our Christmas images often leave the father out. Pictures of Jesus with his mother we are very familiar with but I cannot think of a single picture of Jesus with his father. Yes I know, Joseph was not really his father, but having watched the pride of some of my male friends who have adopted children I know how loving and caring an adopting father can be. Joseph must have loved Mary very deeply to accept her pregnancy. He cared for this adopted son so much that he uprooted his family and fled into Egypt because of him. And he passed on his skills as a carpenter to him. Joseph spent a lot of time with this adopted son teaching him these skills.
Gradually my own ideas of God as father have changed. The God who is love, is as much an image of a caring, compassionate, protective father as it is of a nurturing, warmly embracing mother. This God I want to call both father and mother but at the moment I particularly want to call him father. I have known that protecting, providing father love and I sit in awe of these aspects of God.
As I thought about this today, I found myself weeping, grieving for the love I never experienced from my own earthly father. At the same time I found gratitude welling up within me for aspects of who my father was that I never appreciated. He was a good provider. He allowed me equal opportunity with my brothers which I did not fully appreciate until many years later. While my cousins went to university to find husbands, I went to train as a doctor.
One of the Facebook groups I belong to has encouraged us to honour our ancestors this week. It is my father’s family that I am honouring and thanking God for. My maiden name Aroney is probably a rendition of Aaron. My father’s family probably left Israel in the early Christian era. I wander if it was because they became Christians. They fled to Byzantium and then to the island of Rhodes and finally to the island of Kithera off the coast of Greece. There appear to be many Orthodox priests and strong Christians in my heritage. I am proud of who they were and am grateful to God for the opportunity to get to know them, at least a little, at this stage of my life.
So as we move through this week of gratitude I wonder Are you too missing the father heart of God? Is there room in your manger scene for Joseph as well as Mary. And is there room in your images of God to embrace the father love of God as well as the mother love?
It is only a couple of days until American Thanksgiving, and like so many I am getting ready for a feast. I have so much to be grateful for and I look forward to sharing this with friends. My thanksgiving begins with these words from Psalm 92 and I ask you to begin this day by offering your praises and thanksgivings to God too.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
your faithfulness in the evening,
What is your response?
Repeat these verses out loud several times and sit quietly for five minutes allowing God to bring to mind those things that you have to be grateful for. Write them down. Offer them as prayers of thanksgiving to God. Repeat the exercise each day during this week. Don’t worry if the same thought comes to mind each day. At the end of the week read back over your list. What are the recurring theme? What else could you do to stir gratitude in your life?
Unfortunately even in our thanks and gratitude I am aware that we live in the tension of God’s kingdom now and not yet. The glimpses of God’s kingdom that fill us with awe and wonder, that bring us to our knees with shouts of praise and gratitude are unfortunately just that, glimpses of a world that we desperately long for but do not yet see fully realized. Our thanks and praise are uttered in the shadow of pain and suffering. School shootings in Florida, and continuing deaths from ebola in Africa devastate me. The ongoing turmoil in Syria and other parts of the Middle East oppress my soul. The hottest global season on record and growing concerns about climate change and environmental degradation, degrade my spirit.
It is good to praise and thank God but our celebrations at thanksgiving, our gratitude and praise to God for the many blessings we see in our lives should not blind us to the suffering of others. In fact it should inspire us with the desire to see others rejoice and celebrate in the same ways that we can.
What is your response?
In the midst of your thanksgiving celebration, what are you doing to bring thanksgiving and gratitude into the lives of those who suffer, are oppressed or marginalized?
This morning I sit in my sacred space gazing out at mountains with fresh snow on the Olympics. It is the first of the season and unlike the deluge that has covered much of the midwest and northeastern U.S. it is also a welcome sight. So I sit with gratitude for the changing of the seasons, and for someone who loves summer and warm weather as much as I do, that is a remarkable fact.
For me, this is a time to look, listen, remember and give thanks and sights like this are so important in helping me to do that. Like many of us I was strongly influenced by Ann Voskamp’s wonderful book One Thousand Gifts. I have a friend with cancer whose expected lifespan is now 1,000 days and so she is posting a blessing from each day to her Facebook friends. It is inspirational, heart breaking and profound all at the same time. It is part of the reason that I have already starting posting thanksgiving prayers here and on the Light for the Journey Facebook page.
Thanksgiving does something too us and to those with whom we share it, that is inspirational and profound. No wonder communion is referred to as the great thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is at the centre of our faith. In fact I think it makes it possible for us to view all things both good and bad through the eyes of faith.
Please take time this weekend and throughout the following week to reflect on all you have to be grateful for. If you would like leave comments on this post of your thanksgivings so that we can enrich each other with our prayers.
The church year, which sets the rhythm for life here at Godspace is almost over. Officially it ends next week, but last year, I started messing with tradition and began Advent early with a week of gratitude and thanksgiving. It was so good that we decided to continue the tradition this year.
Wow, what a year of gratitude. Traffic on the blog has zoomed and my heart is overflowing with gratitude particularly for all of you who form the Godspace community. Thank you for your engagement and encouragement.
I am delighted at the ways that our hospitality theme has been lived out. First we have provided a welcoming place for authors from diverse backgrounds to thrive. Over one hundred people have contributed posts for the various series I have hosted, providing a feast of perspectives and understandings. There is already a rich feast awaiting the start of the Advent season. Others have entered the Facebook and twitter communities with comments, questions and observations. Still more use posts as a basis for their own reflections or spread the feast as they adapt prayers and liturgies for personal or congregational use.
I am extremely grateful for the ways that so many of you have helped shape my own faith journey. Your posts and comments on hospitality and spiritual direction have stretched and challenged me. Thank you. I hope the blog provides a safe and hospitable gathering space for you too to grapple with hard questions that stretch you beyond the boundaries of what you are comfortable voicing in their own families or congregations.
Next year will, I think, be even more exciting. Our overarching theme will be reconciliation, and over the year we will grapple not just with the restoring of mutual respect between individuals who are in conflict, but with the broader themes of restoration of relationship to God, to others, to God’s creation and even the restoration of peace within our own persons. To me this is a natural progression from our discussions about hospitality. We cannot sit down at the table together or stand around the manger together without seeking reconciliation. We cannot be hospitable unless we are willing to be reconciled. We cannot be reconciled unless we are willing to be hospitable. We cannot sit down together unless we are willing to listen to and engage with those who think, look or act very differently than we do.
So why do I live in tension?
The tension comes when I talk about the resources we provide. I watch the traffic zoom on my post Why Not Simplify This Christmas, now with over 10,000 views and 2,000 shares on Facebook and I know part of what we offer is an alternative to the hyped up consumer culture. Of course we don’t produce resources or hold events with the intention of adding to the consumer frenzy but sometimes I wonder if that is the impression we give. I hate the ads not just for Christmas sales but now “pre-black Friday sales” that come across my computer and TV screens and don’t want to be part of something like that.
Yet I am passionate about the books, meditations, and prayer cards we produce and sell and believe they provide essential tools to enable all of us to refocus and renew our faith. They are also part of what sustains the work on this blog. We have just made A Journey Toward Home and A Journey Into Wholeness available together at a special price both as paper and e-books because we believe they will provide a pathway to an ongoing journey. Our prayer cards are being used not just for personal prayer but also in therapy, grief counselling, and for congregational distribution. And the Advent mediation videos have been used by congregations and small groups around the world.
So as we head towards Advent and Christmas this year I do hope that you will consider supporting the ongoing work of this blog by purchasing resources that help to sustain it. Or perhaps you would like to make a donation. Mustard Seed Associates of which this blog is a part, is a 501 (c) 3 organization. Donations are tax deductible.
Whatever you do I hope that you will continue to be a part of the Godspace community into the future. And if you have suggestions for good topics to address in 2015 and beyond I would love to hear from you about that too.
American Thanksgiving is only a week away. People are zipping across the country (or at least trying to plough through the record snowfalls to get together) to spend the day with family and friends. This is the holiday that I have most relished adopting since I have lived in the U.S. but I find that in the frenzy of activity it is easy to forget that this is meant to be a celebration of praise and thanksgiving to God for the abundance with which we are blessed.
Last year some of you may remember I decided to mess with Advent and add an extra week, focusing on thankfulness and gratitude. I have decided to do the same this year which means I will begin my personal Advent reflections this Sunday, focusing on gratitude and thankfulness. For me, there is no better place to start than with responsive prayer. I thought that some of you might appreciate this liturgy that we used at our community meal on Tuesday and will use next week, reading at least parts of it each day to focus me on what I am grateful for. We will also use it Thanksgiving Day as part of our celebrations.
You can also check out the array of prayers, litanies and thanksgiving music on our Thanksgiving and Harvest resource post too.
A Thanksgiving Liturgy
God eternal and righteous One,
Who created the heavens and the earth,
we gather to give you thanks.
For breath that fills us with your life,
For love that softens our hearts,
For beauty revealed at every turn.
Christ redeeming and forgiving One,
Who is always faithful and merciful.
We gather to give you thanks,
For renewal, transforming our lives,
For peace calming the chaos of our souls,
For hope restoring our faith.
Spirit sustaining, and compassionate One,
Who calls us into relationship with the living God,
We give you thanks,
For caring when our hearts are aching,
For friends supportive in times of need,
For generosity lavish and overflowing.
God who created the earth and the heavens,
Eternal, Redeeming and Sustaining One,
We gather to give you thanks,
We come with hearts full of gratitude,
For all things good,
We give you thanks for You.
(Pause to express gratitude for your own areas of thanksgiving)
For the universe immense and unknown,
For the earth on which we live,
For humankind made in your image.
Thanks and praise to God our creator.
For the way you entered human history as one of us
For the sacrifice you made for all of us,
For dying that we might live.
Thanks and praise to Christ our redeemer,
For the wonder of your indwelling presence,
For the comfort of your guidance and direction,
For drawing us together as one body.
Thanks and praise to the Holy Spirit our sustainer.
Through your will we are made whole,
Through your love we are renewed.
Through your abiding presence we become one community.
Thanks and praise to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer through all eternity.
Psalm 105 1-8 (NLT)
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God.
His justice is seen throughout the land.
He always stands by his covenant—
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Colossians 3: 15-17 (NLT)
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Luke 22: 17 – 19
Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray together now in the words Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen
Gracious and generous God we give you thanks,
For the gift of life for we are made in your image,
We think of all those in whom your divine image is still distorted.
We pray for your mercy and love to rest upon them.
God in your mercy be with them.
Caring and providing God we give you thanks,
For our homes that shelter and protect us,
We think of those without shelter and water and protection today.
We pray for your generous provision to be poured out upon them.
God in your mercy be with them.
Abundant and giving God we give you thanks,
For our food that nourishes and strengthens us,
We think of those without adequate food and nourishment today.
We pray that you will feed them with the bread of life.
God in your mercy be with them.
Loving and compassionate God we give you thanks,
For our friends and family who love and comfort us in times of need,
We think of those who are alone and feel abandoned.
God comfort and surround them that they may sense your presence.
God in your mercy be with them.
(Pause to offer your own prayers)
Gracious and generous God,
We remember all the gifts you have given us,
We remember how lavishly you have provided.
We remember how lovingly you have cared,
We remember especially that greatest gift of all,
Jesus Christ our Saviour,
And we give you thanks.
Amen
Today I intended to make my Come to the Manger Advent wreath. I got as far as cutting out the circle for the wreath and printing out the manger image I plan to paste at the centre. Then I stopped. Suddenly it struck me that what I had in front of me was an image of the circle of God’s love, centred around the coming of Christ into our world. I was so overwhelmed by this image that I have sat meditating on the love of God ever since.
One thing I realize is that there is a big difference between who we invite to the manger (the inner circle in my imagination) and who God welcomes to the manger. God’s love encircles all humanity – past present and future. God welcomes all who come – the foreigners, the despised, the abandoned, those who look different, act differently, worship differently. All are welcomed by our loving God. The circle of God’s love is one of inclusion not of exclusion.
Often we only invite those we feel comfortable with and when others want to join us we exclude them because they don’t fit our understanding of who is acceptable to God. What would happen I wonder, if we, like God were willing to go out into the highways and byways, into the places we feel uncomfortable, and invite in everyone we meet?
As you know I love Celtic crosses and part of my love is the circle that is part of it. It speaks to me of the love of God and the all embracing nature of that love. Not surprisingly, I ended up meditating on one of my Celtic crosses and then rewriting the prayer I posted a few weeks ago.
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