As I write this, the sky outside is getting dark; ominous black clouds gathering, the harbinger of a coming tropical monsoon storm. Parts of my country Malaysia is submersed in the annual floods that plague this country in the monsoon period. The darkness of the gathering storm reflects the darkness of my soul. No, I did not have a bad year. In fact, 2013 will be considered by many to be a very successful year for me. I have received accolades for my medical work and medical teaching. I achieved the pinnacle in my academic development. I have presented a theological paper in an international conference, taught well received courses in theological seminaries, preached numerous sermons and led a couple of retreats. And many have been blessed by these. Yet, I feel empty. I feel a longing for something or someone. I feel homesick. C.S. Lewis has expressed what I am feeling well when he described that feeling he had as if hearing a familiar music from behind a door of a party you have not been invited to. The music invoking a sense of longing, a sense of homesickness of a home you have never seen before.
Advent, the season which leads to Christmas offers me this opportunity to express my homesickness. Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of the Christ, God incarnate who took on human flesh. The almighty that became vulnerable as a newborn baby in Mary’s arms. The Messiah has come to take on the sins of the world so that all may be reconcile to the Holy Father. The Christ event has made possible my ticket home. This ticket was offered to me free by God’s loving grace. Like a person with amnesia, I may not remember what this home is like but I know that it will be a good place. This home will be where there is space for me to be me; with no pretensions or deceptions. Where I am loved for who I am, not what I do. Home is a space where I feel wanted and am comfortable in. Not an alien resident or squatter in a foreign land. This space is where I belong and am being part of. Coming to this home will be like I have never left. While I am here in this world, this home is still in me and will always be part of me.
Advent and Christmas promise new beginnings. Being at the end of December it is the closing of the year and a new year beckons. Many new journeys begin from home. We strike out from our safe comfortable homes on new quests of discoveries. Advent is coming back to base, rest and equip for another year ahead. Advent is homecoming. Christmas is home base. Then living forward to another quest; another year ahead of discovering the transcendent and immanent God in our daily lives.
Finally, Advent is coming home to another Christ event, that of His second coming. The return of the king will bring to an end the tremendous suffering of this groaning creation, and the billions of human souls on it. It will be an end to pain, suffering, loneliness and loss. The shalom of the Garden of Eden, the original perfect creation will be restored. And we will all come home, only to discover as T.S Eliot notes, it is where we all have began from.
Bio
Alex Tang lives in Malaysia, He is a paediatrician, associate professor of Paediatrics, practical theologian, and spiritual director. Please visit his website Kairos Spiritual Formation www.kairos2.com
The following is an excerpt from a post that I wrote for Shelovesmagazine.com The topic for the month is joy which is of course what the season is meant to be all about.
Tis the season of joy, or is it? As we move towards Christmas and the celebration of Christ’s coming, most of us are anything but joyful. One of my friends told me recently that she hates Christmas because she always eats too much, spends too much and commits to too much.
My friend is not alone.
The Christmas consumer frenzy focuses us away from the things that really matter and strips us of our joy. What we as individuals have come to see as important – individualism, status, and competition – diminishes rather than improves our happiness.
Consumption, not relationship, is the goal of society. Wealth, not happiness, is the measure of success.
Wait. Hope. See.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in God’s word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning
more than those who watch for the morning.
—Psalm 130:5-6
Advent. The season of waiting and preparing for the birth of Christ. But it’s not just about Baby Jesus, sweet and mild. Certainly we wait for Christmas and the celebration of Christ’s birth in history past, but we also wait for the risen Christ to come again.
In fact, the Gospel passage for the first Sunday of Advent—the first Sunday of the church year— is not the story of Jesus’ birth, not the story of the Annunciation or of Mary’s response to the angel’s startling proclamation, nor the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Rather, it is part of Jesus’ speech about the signs of the end of the age, when we will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).
The Church’s choice of this passage speaks of the larger significance of Advent. Yes, Advent is a time of waiting and preparation leading up to Christmas—the celebration of Jesus’ birth in history—but ultimately, we are not waiting for Christmas; we are waiting for Christ’s return.
In English, the word “wait” tends to imply passivity, maybe even boredom. But this is not the implication that Jesus would have had in mind when he spoke of his disciples waiting for his return. In Hebrew, the word for “wait” is also the word for “hope.” Thus translators can render “Wait for the Lord” as “Hope in the Lord” with equal accuracy.
This linguistic equation of “wait” with “hope” means that for Jesus, immersed as he was in the language of the Hebrew Bible, there is no conceptual differentiation between waiting and hoping. They are one and the same activity. This melding is especially apropos during Advent, when we wait in hopeful expectation for the return of Christ. Henri Nouwen calls this “active waiting.”
Active waiting, he says, “means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it. A waiting person is someone who is present to the moment, who believes that this moment is the moment.”
One of the traditions I find most helpful in cultivating this attitude of mindful—and hopeful—attention during Advent is our family’s nightly lighting of the Advent wreath.
Each week during Advent, we light an additional candle, proclaiming as we do so, “Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome.”
The progressive lighting of the candles reminds us to wait with attentiveness through the darkness of December, because the Light who is coming into the world already shines in the darkness—if only we will watch and see.
I invite you to pay attention this Advent as you wait with hope for Christ to come—because the truth is, Christ has already come. We are waiting for something that has already happened! Jesus Christ is the Light of the world—right here, right now—the light no darkness can overcome.
So look up, look around: where is the light of Christ breaking through the darkness of the world?
And, please, do share a few of those God-sightings with others (maybe in the comments?). Let’s help one another see the light as we wait for the Light.
—an edited excerpt from The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year
Bio
Today’s post is by Kimberlee Conway Ireton. Kimberlee is the mother of four children, an avid reader, and the author of The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year and a recently released memoir, Cracking Up: A Postpartum Faith Crisis. She and her family worship at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Seattle.
Advent is a season of waiting for the coming of Christ. Last week in my post Stable, Inn or Welcoming Home – Where Was Jesus Born and What Does It Matter? I talked about the first coming for which we wait, the remembrance of Jesus coming in the flesh, an infant whose birth captivates our hearts yet makes few, if any demands on our souls.
The second coming to which Advent calls our attention is the coming of the presence of God which makes Jesus present in our own lives today. Once more I wonder if we have relegated his existence to a stable rather than inviting him to share our homes. Are our hearts truly open to the coming of Christ to the full extent that he wants them to be? Are we willing to invite him into the innermost places of our lives where our broken, selfish natures reside recognizing our deep, deep need of his compassion, healing and forgiveness? Are we willing to surrender these places to his love so that they can be transformed and he can feel comfortable living there.
A couple of days ago, my scripture readings included the letter from Jude to the early church. It is possible that this letter was written by one of Jesus’ brothers. It is probable however that Jude did not come to believe in Jesus as the Son of God until after Jesus rose from the dead. If this is the case, Jude grew up residing in the same home as Jesus but did not allow Jesus to find a home in his heart and life until he recognized who Jesus really was. However once Jude invited Jesus into his heart, his life purpose was totally transformed. He opens his letter with the words: Kindness, peace and love – may they never stop blooming in you and from you. (Jude 2 the Voice)
Inviting Jesus to make his home in our hearts means we too need to truly recognize who Jesus is, trust his design for our lives and commit passionately and totally to his purposes for us. We need to allow his abiding presence to completely transform our lives so that we love what he loves and commit our time, resources and talents to what he wants to see happen in the world. Allowing Jesus to take up residence in our hearts is more then a cursory acknowledgement of his lordship and a prayer for him to respond to our words of repentance. Justice, healing, peace, freedom from oppression, concern for the poor and the marginalized, love, kindness and generosity. These are just some of the fruit of a heart in which Jesus has taken up residence.
As we enter this second week of Advent I ask you to take time to consider how much of your heart you allow Jesus to reside in. Are there rooms marked private Jesus keep out? Set aside time to rethink your priorities. How much of your time and resource is committed to Jesus’ passions for justice, healing and liberation? How much of it revolves around deepening your relationship to God? When you get busy is prayer the first thing you jettison?
How does your commitment to Jesus alter the way you use your time, talent and resources? More than at any other season of the year the pressures of the secular culture drag us away from God’s purposes. Times of reflection and renewal are marginalized by the lure of the malls and parties. Quasi religious rituals of spending and consuming take over.
So I challenge you from the life of Jude. May you refocus your life so that Jesus can indeed feel at home in your heart.
Now to the One who can keep you upright and plant you firmly in his presence – clean unmarked and joyful in the light of his glory – to the one and only God, our Saviour, through Jesus the Anointed our Lord, be glory and greatness and might and authority; just as it has been since before he created time, mat it continue now and into eternity. Amen (Jude 24-25 The Voice)
This post is also a contribution to the synchroblog Coming Home. Here are the links of other bloggers writing on this theme. Christine Sine – Is There Room for Jesus to Find a Home In Your Heart?
- Jeremy Myers – It Sounds Like Christmas
- Nathan Kitchen – Coming Home
- Michelle at Moments with Michelle – Home
- Mallory Pickering – I’m Kind of Homesick
- Bobi Ann Allen – Coming Home
- J.A. Carter – Going Home
- Glenn Hager – Where the Adventure Begins
- Marta Layton – Can You Ever Come Home Again?
- Peggy at Abisomeone – Abi Has Finally Come Home For Christmas
- Amy Hetland – Coming Home
- Coffeesnob – Home
- Carol Kuniholm – Advent Three: Redefining Home
- Liz Dyer – Advent 2013 The Way Home
- Harriet Long – The Body and the Sacred: Coming Home
- Edwin Pastor Fedex Aldrich – Who I Was Made to Be
- Emkay Anderson – Homemaking
- Anita Coleman – At Home in the Kingdom of God
- Kathy Escobar – Mobile Homes (Not That Kind)
- Jennifer Clark Tinker – My Itinerant Home
- Doreen Mannion – Heart is Where the Home is
Story by Jim and Donna Mathwig
Music by Aaron Strumpel, In Mansions and Church of the Beloved
Reflection by Dr. Dwight Friesen
Story by Jim and Donna Mathwig
Music by Aaron Strumpel, In Mansions and Church of the Beloved
Reflection by Dr. Dwight Friesen, Seattle School of Theology and Psychology Seattle WA
Meditation by Christine Sine, Mustard Seed Associates taken from the Advent devotional Waiting for the Light
Produced by Ryan Marsh, Church of the Beloved
Listen to Donna and Jim share their grief as they lose their home in the recession, enjoy Aaron Strumpel’s music and ponder Dwight Friesen’s profound reflections on Advent and the need to knock on the doors of injustice and anticipate where Christ might be born.
Or right click this link and save to your computer – Advent Podcast Week Two
Join us each day this week as we continue to reflect on the theme Coming Home
Ponder with us: Where would you like to see Christ born in your neighbourhood and in your life this week?
This is the second of four Advent podcasts produced by Ryan Marsh of Church of the Beloved for the Godspace blog.
If you missed the first podcast from last week you can listen to it here.
You may also like to check out this Advent Mediation Video Coming Home to the Story of God
And if you would like to reflect on the daily posts from this first week of Advent you can do so here:
- Stable, Inn or Welcoming Home, Where Was Jesus Born and Why Does it Matter?
- Peace Dancing by Esther Hizsa
- Mary and Mindfulness by Kristin Carroccino
- Advent is All About Light by Kate Kennington Steer
- A Summertime Advent by David Bayne
- Pancha Rathas by Amanda Geers
And don’t forget our other Mustard Seed resources including these beautiful prayer cards that we have put together. Your purchase of these resources is one way to help support the Godspace blog and the ministry of Mustard Seed Associates.
We hope that you will join us next week and the following for our last two podcasts.
Week Three of Coming Home
- Story by Mary September
- Music by Tracie Whisperly, In Mansions and Church of the Beloved
- Reflection by Rev. Karen Ward, All Souls Episcopal Church, Portland, OR
- Meditation by Christine Sine, Mustard Seed Associates
- Produced by Ryan Marsh, Church of the Beloved, Edmonds WA
Week Four of Coming Home
- Story by Mustard Seed House
- Music by Lacey Brown, In Mansions and Church of the Beloved
- Reflection by Tom Sine, Mustard Seed Associates
- Meditation by Christine Sine, Mustard Seed Associates
- Produced by Ryan Marsh, Church of the Beloved, Edmonds WA
- heseattleschool.edu/”>Seattle School of Theology and Psychology Seattle WA
- Meditation by Christine Sine, Mustard Seed Associates taken from the Advent devotional Waiting for the Light
- Produced by Ryan Marsh, Church of the Beloved
Nelson Mandela via wikimedia commons
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. (Hebrews 12:1 – NLT)
Eternal God,
In your infinite love for women and men,
you incarnated yourself in Christ,
and revealed your nature and your purpose to us;
In your infinite love for poor and wealthy,
you laid aside your glory
and walked among us as one of us;
In your infinite love for every race and tribe and nation,
you brought a new world into being
and taught us to live as citizens of God’s Reign;
But, you have not stopped incarnating yourself,
you still reveal yourself and your Reign of love and justice
to all who will see,
and to all who open their hearts and lives to you.
We praise and thank you, O God,
for the people through whom you reveal yourself still;
for those who give themselves to build a world
based on the values of your reign
of love, justice, peace and reconciliation.
Today especially we celebrate the “little incarnation” that was Nelson Mandela,
who gave his life for the sake of justice and freedom,
who lived the world-healing practices
of forgiveness, inclusivity, compassion and integrity.
We praise and thank you, O God, for Nelson Mandela
for his faithfulness to your call,
his example of justice, peace and reconciliation,
and his courage to endure suffering, rejection and persecution
for the sake of others.
This liturgy is written by John Van de Laar as part of a remembrance service for Nelson Mandela. John is a Methodist minister and worship leader in South Africa. You can read the entire liturgy and other liturgical resources here.
This piece was inspired during my time spent studying abroad in India after a visit to monolithic stone temples sitting on the southeast coast of India named Pancha Rathas, which were part of a 7th century port city called Mahabalipuram. As groups of tourist were walking toward the temples, I noticed two beggars: one female, one male, both crippled and elderly sitting on each side of the pathway. Based on this moment, I wrote this poem to help myself process my thoughts on poverty in India and the tension of wondering if the structure of society as it is now could ever allow for poverty to cease . But as I’ve been reflecting on what it means to observe Advent 
and wait for the coming of Christ, especially the Second Coming; I realized that though originally this piece was written specifically on the ancient pain of poverty, I think that it also uniquely illustrates that sense of waiting for redemption, for all to be made well. It is depicting that moment in between Christ’s coming which brought redeeming hope and Christ’s second coming when we will finally, fully, at last step into that redemption.
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