It’s the end of the first week of Celtic Advent and I hope that by now you have prepared your sacred space and reoriented your thinking towards this Advent journey. I am delighted at how many of you have sent me images of your altars and comments on the readings. Some talked about how necessary an extended Advent seems this year, not just because of the turmoil and uncertainty caused by the U.S. elections, but also because the secular culture now begins its consumer bombardment, at least here in the U.S., at the beginning of November. To set our hearts in the right direction and resist this pressure to buy and consume is not easy, but the sooner we embrace this unfamiliar path the more likely we are to follow it. You might like to check out Kreg Yingst @psalmprayers who is posting daily on Instagram poems and woodcuts that relate to the daily reflections in the book.
One of the things we talked about at our community meal on Monday night was the importance of stories like those I tell in Celtic Advent – Following An Unfamiliar Path. The Celtic tradition is alive with stories that combine truth and whimsy so that they lodge in our brains in a way that helps us make sense of our own stories. Many of these stories were carefully passed down by trained storytellers who helped to shape the beliefs and actions of those who listened. It’s amazing to me that these stories can still impact our lives and inspire us to deeper levels of commitment to Christ and to a way of life that reflects his values and teachings.
Alongside Celtic Advent, I am also reading Kelley Nikondeha’s compelling book The First Advent in Palestine. She comments that some call the land of Palestine the fifth Gospel because the land reveals much about the life of Jesus. She contends that “the more we see the political and economic landscape and the land itself, then, as part of the narrative, the more relevant the advent story will be to us now.” This is a fascinating and important book for all of us to read. Another one you might like to consider is Drew Jackson’s God Speaks Through Wombs a very powerful book of poems that I used last year. If you missed the episode on Liturgical Rebels Poetry as a Spiritual Practice with Drew Jackson it is well worth listening to in conjunction with reading his book.
You might also like to check out the Celtic Advent playlist I put together a couple of years ago on Spotify. Listening to music is a great way to enter into the season.
In my Meditation Monday – Following A Dream, I moved a little away from Celtic Advent to share with you an important phase in the history of my life – the development of the property on Camano Island that Tom and I owned and then deeded over to Circlewood. One of my friends commented – “you really are like the Celtic holy wanderers. You too have wandered and allowed God to lead, often unsure of where you were heading.” It’s true and has been both the challenge and the deep reward of my life. I hope that my story encourages you to step out into the unknown and follow Christ down an unfamiliar path.
Last Friday I shared about preparing my Sacred Space for the Advent season. I am more convinced than ever that having a space that helps us focus on the changing liturgical seasons can help ground our faith in important ways. Lilly Lewin also focused on Celtic Advent in Freerange Friday – Let A Little Light in With Celtic Advent I love her question “where have you noticed signs of light this week?
Today we published the 21st episode of Liturgical Rebels and the last episode for this year: A Year in Review. Forrest Inslee, who helped me launch the podcast and interviewed me in the first episode helps me look back at what was accomplished this year and forward to what I hope accomplish next year. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode as Forrest is good at asking me hard questions I like to ignore. I am looking forward to a fresh start in January next year. If you have comments, questions or advice about Liturgical Rebels I would love to hear from you.
Hold love close,
Do not let it go.
Let it flow from you, through you, in you.
Let it permeate your being
With the beauty and goodness of God.
Let it plant seeds of light and life,
Build bridges not walls,
Encourage unity not fragmentation.
God’s love resides in every action,
Every atom, every part of creation.
It holds our world together.
Share it freely every day.
Love
Christine Sine