Advent Devotional for Monday, December 15, 2008
Week 3: JOY
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Galatians 5: 22-23
It can be so difficult to find joy in this season of joy. Everyone is telling you to be merry, to be happy, and sometimes that’s just too hard. I was 13 the first year I realized I had no Christmas spirit. Sometimes watching a particular Christmas special on TV would do it, but even that didn’t work this time. I was in such a funk. I didn’t know what to do. The more I thought about it, the worse it got.
Since then, I have found the perfect remedy for this pathetic winter disease! The cure was handed to me by a dear neighbor. Mrs. Gregg organized a caroling party. She gathered us all at her house and we went up and down the street stopping to sing at each house. (We were even careful to sing “Jingle Bells” at the home of our only Jewish neighbors.) Then we went back to the Greggs’ house for red velvet cake and cookies and cocoa. I felt so much better! My problem was paying too much attention to me, to my feelings. I needed to think about what I could do to bring Christmas to someone else.
And then there was the hard part: taking that home. But somehow it was easier to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, generous, faithful, gentle and in control of myself after spending the evening with my neighbors, reaching out to them with joy.
Lord, help me to remember that this is your party and I am an invited guest. Help me to remember to reach out in joy to these others you also love. Remind me that joy is a beautiful virus that needs to be spread far and wide!
By Ann Klonowski, Theology Teacher
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Matthew 17:10-13 Advent Devotional
Advent Devotional for Friday, December 12, 2008
Week 2: HOPE
After the transfiguration, as Jesus and the disciples were coming down the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He replied “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah already came, and did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that Jesus was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
Mt. 17:10-13
One summer I rode up Mt. Washington hoping for a glimpse of the state of New Hampshire. When I reached the top I was in a bank of clouds and could not see anything. I saw New Hampshire as I drove along the highways and met people, not on top of a mountain. Hope is like that. We hope for peace in our hearts, families, nation and world but all we see are clouds of division. We are “muddled.”
Advent is a time of hope; a time of waiting. The strange thing about hope is that what we long for is already here but not recognizable except through faith; just like the valley below Mt. Washington. God sent Jesus to save us; to give us hope. He is our brother who guides us on the right path.
What is this path on which we must walk? John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ lives give us some insight: love God and love your neighbor. If we want to know, love and serve God, we must get to know, love and serve our neighbor, even those whom we dislike. Both Jesus and John the Baptist were murdered because they preached and lived love of God and neighbor.
During this time of Advent:
· Choose someone whom you dislike and do something nice and/or pray for that person.
· Reflect on how he or she reacted and how doing the good deed made you feel. Did your act of kindness, prayer bring that person and/or you hope?
By Madeline Muller, HM, Information/Data Coordinator
Week 2: HOPE
After the transfiguration, as Jesus and the disciples were coming down the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He replied “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah already came, and did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that Jesus was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
Mt. 17:10-13
One summer I rode up Mt. Washington hoping for a glimpse of the state of New Hampshire. When I reached the top I was in a bank of clouds and could not see anything. I saw New Hampshire as I drove along the highways and met people, not on top of a mountain. Hope is like that. We hope for peace in our hearts, families, nation and world but all we see are clouds of division. We are “muddled.”
Advent is a time of hope; a time of waiting. The strange thing about hope is that what we long for is already here but not recognizable except through faith; just like the valley below Mt. Washington. God sent Jesus to save us; to give us hope. He is our brother who guides us on the right path.
What is this path on which we must walk? John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ lives give us some insight: love God and love your neighbor. If we want to know, love and serve God, we must get to know, love and serve our neighbor, even those whom we dislike. Both Jesus and John the Baptist were murdered because they preached and lived love of God and neighbor.
During this time of Advent:
· Choose someone whom you dislike and do something nice and/or pray for that person.
· Reflect on how he or she reacted and how doing the good deed made you feel. Did your act of kindness, prayer bring that person and/or you hope?
By Madeline Muller, HM, Information/Data Coordinator
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Hebrews 11: 1-13 Advent Devotional
Advent Devotional for Thursday, December 11, 2008
Week 2: HOPE
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain's. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and "he was found no more because God had taken him." Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age--and Sarah herself was sterile--for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth.
Hebrews 11: 1-13
One of my most inquisitive and persistent students, Brittney, was bemoaning again the fact that she “had no faith.” She said she wished she had faith. She wanted faith just like everyone else. Why was she the one person in this school without faith? (It seemed to me, however, that if she truly lacked faith, she wouldn’t have cared so much; nor would it have been such a source of distress. So somewhere inside, she actually DID have faith.)
On this particular day another teacher working in the faculty office overheard us having the “faith conversation” for the millionth time; and on this occasion, Ms. T. turned to Brittney and said, “You’re confusing faith and belief, dear. Faith is a stance.” And then she turned back around and continued her work.
I’m not quite sure the statement had the desired effect on my student (as a matter of fact, I know it did not, because the “faith conversation” goes on and on ‘til this day) but the words went straight to my heart.
Faith is not so much about what you think or what you believe in your head, faith is the whole way you approach your life. It’s the place where what you think and believe become realized in how you live and eventually in who you are. It prescribes the way you get up in the morning, how you greet everyone you meet during the day, the way you spend your time and resources, and how you end your day – and everything in between.
The ancients described in the Hebrews reading for today exemplify just such an understanding of faith. They are not remembered and honored for the orthodoxy of their beliefs or the loftiness of their thoughts. They are held up as models of faith because their living testified to the faithfulness of God. They lived “as if” every promise made and every Word spoken were as real and unshakeable as a mountain.
One of my favorite quotes is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; and, if necessary, use words.”
This preaching Good News with our lives is the essence of faith to me. The Word becomes flesh in everything we do, and in the people we are. Could there possibly be any other Advent practice so meaningful or any Christmas gift so complete?
By Virginia Malloy, Campus Minister
Week 2: HOPE
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain's. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and "he was found no more because God had taken him." Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age--and Sarah herself was sterile--for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth.
Hebrews 11: 1-13
One of my most inquisitive and persistent students, Brittney, was bemoaning again the fact that she “had no faith.” She said she wished she had faith. She wanted faith just like everyone else. Why was she the one person in this school without faith? (It seemed to me, however, that if she truly lacked faith, she wouldn’t have cared so much; nor would it have been such a source of distress. So somewhere inside, she actually DID have faith.)
On this particular day another teacher working in the faculty office overheard us having the “faith conversation” for the millionth time; and on this occasion, Ms. T. turned to Brittney and said, “You’re confusing faith and belief, dear. Faith is a stance.” And then she turned back around and continued her work.
I’m not quite sure the statement had the desired effect on my student (as a matter of fact, I know it did not, because the “faith conversation” goes on and on ‘til this day) but the words went straight to my heart.
Faith is not so much about what you think or what you believe in your head, faith is the whole way you approach your life. It’s the place where what you think and believe become realized in how you live and eventually in who you are. It prescribes the way you get up in the morning, how you greet everyone you meet during the day, the way you spend your time and resources, and how you end your day – and everything in between.
The ancients described in the Hebrews reading for today exemplify just such an understanding of faith. They are not remembered and honored for the orthodoxy of their beliefs or the loftiness of their thoughts. They are held up as models of faith because their living testified to the faithfulness of God. They lived “as if” every promise made and every Word spoken were as real and unshakeable as a mountain.
One of my favorite quotes is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; and, if necessary, use words.”
This preaching Good News with our lives is the essence of faith to me. The Word becomes flesh in everything we do, and in the people we are. Could there possibly be any other Advent practice so meaningful or any Christmas gift so complete?
By Virginia Malloy, Campus Minister
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Psalm 46 Advent Devotional
Advent Devotional for Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Week 1: PREPARE
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
Though its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at its surging.
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken; God will help it at break of day.
Though nations rage and kingdoms totter, God’s voice thunders and the earth trembles.
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come and see the works of the Lord, who had done fearsome deeds on earth;
Who stops wars to the ends of the earth, breaks the bow, splinters the spear, and burns the shields with fire,
Who says: “Be still and confess that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Psalm 46
Every day, the media announces even more distressing economic news: “The stock market is plummeting.” “The bailout of the banking sector is costing hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars.” “Thousands of people are being laid off or losing their jobs.” “Senior citizens are seeing their retirement accounts disappear overnight.” “The number of people frequenting local food pantries is on the rise.” Doesn’t this seem to reflect what the psalmist describes as the “earth being shaken, the mountains quaking to the depths of the sea, the sea raging and foaming and the mountains totters at the surging of the sea?” Indeed, the solid foundations on which so many placed their economic hopes and their very lives are crumbling. The earth is being shaken; the mountains are quaking to the depths of the sea.
Many can rightfully claim, where is our loving God? Has God utterly abandoned us? If one feels abandoned, the temptation is to be paralyzed by unhealthy worry and frightful anxiety. If one is not paralyzed by worry, one can fall into hectic, even frenetic activity thinking, “I have to do something, do anything for doing something is better than nothing.” Yet, the psalmist advises, “Do not fear; God is our refuge and our strength!” Is the psalmist calling us to passivism, to naïveté? Is the psalmist calling us to ignore the crisis all around us? Is the psalmist trying to lull us into a drug like stupor?
In this present situation or in other turbulent times, it takes courage to “Be still and confess that I am God.” The simple act of prayer and trust in God requires a great act of faith. It takes great courage to even maintain one’s faith in God in the face of others’ criticism. This courage comes from the promise that “The Lord of hosts is with us…” This expression is very similar to the one that Isaiah uses in predicting the birth of Jesus. He says that Jesus is Emmanuel, that is, God is with us. And it is this constant presence of God with us that gives us courage. God is at our side in the midst of whatever difficulty we have: financial, medical, familial… God does not wave a magic wand that takes away the struggles, the worry and the anxiety. But, God will be there with us in the midst of our struggles each and every minute of every day, loving us, supporting us, inspiring us to navigate the obstacles in our path.
As we prepare for Christmas, let us courageously “Be still” in order to recognize the presence of “Emmanuel, God with us” in our midst. It is when we can “Be still” with God that we can break out of our paralysis. It is when we can “Be still” with God that we can set aside frenetic unfocused activity. It is when we can “Be still” with God that we can recognize opportunities to solve problems.
By Steve Suding, Vice President of Mission
Week 1: PREPARE
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
Though its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at its surging.
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken; God will help it at break of day.
Though nations rage and kingdoms totter, God’s voice thunders and the earth trembles.
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come and see the works of the Lord, who had done fearsome deeds on earth;
Who stops wars to the ends of the earth, breaks the bow, splinters the spear, and burns the shields with fire,
Who says: “Be still and confess that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Psalm 46
Every day, the media announces even more distressing economic news: “The stock market is plummeting.” “The bailout of the banking sector is costing hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars.” “Thousands of people are being laid off or losing their jobs.” “Senior citizens are seeing their retirement accounts disappear overnight.” “The number of people frequenting local food pantries is on the rise.” Doesn’t this seem to reflect what the psalmist describes as the “earth being shaken, the mountains quaking to the depths of the sea, the sea raging and foaming and the mountains totters at the surging of the sea?” Indeed, the solid foundations on which so many placed their economic hopes and their very lives are crumbling. The earth is being shaken; the mountains are quaking to the depths of the sea.
Many can rightfully claim, where is our loving God? Has God utterly abandoned us? If one feels abandoned, the temptation is to be paralyzed by unhealthy worry and frightful anxiety. If one is not paralyzed by worry, one can fall into hectic, even frenetic activity thinking, “I have to do something, do anything for doing something is better than nothing.” Yet, the psalmist advises, “Do not fear; God is our refuge and our strength!” Is the psalmist calling us to passivism, to naïveté? Is the psalmist calling us to ignore the crisis all around us? Is the psalmist trying to lull us into a drug like stupor?
In this present situation or in other turbulent times, it takes courage to “Be still and confess that I am God.” The simple act of prayer and trust in God requires a great act of faith. It takes great courage to even maintain one’s faith in God in the face of others’ criticism. This courage comes from the promise that “The Lord of hosts is with us…” This expression is very similar to the one that Isaiah uses in predicting the birth of Jesus. He says that Jesus is Emmanuel, that is, God is with us. And it is this constant presence of God with us that gives us courage. God is at our side in the midst of whatever difficulty we have: financial, medical, familial… God does not wave a magic wand that takes away the struggles, the worry and the anxiety. But, God will be there with us in the midst of our struggles each and every minute of every day, loving us, supporting us, inspiring us to navigate the obstacles in our path.
As we prepare for Christmas, let us courageously “Be still” in order to recognize the presence of “Emmanuel, God with us” in our midst. It is when we can “Be still” with God that we can break out of our paralysis. It is when we can “Be still” with God that we can set aside frenetic unfocused activity. It is when we can “Be still” with God that we can recognize opportunities to solve problems.
By Steve Suding, Vice President of Mission
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
