What does it mean to wait? I have really been living into this during Advent this year. Most of the time I'm just rushing around trying to get all the "must dos" done. But this year, we are staying in WA and not traveling...we don't have family coming and I am actually finding myself having a more meaningful Advent because I'm not waiting to go somewhere or waiting for the guests to arrive. I have even given myself permission this year to not send out a mass mailing of Christmas cards which has taken one thing off of my plate. And so without quite as many distractions, the notion of waiting has really sunk in this year.
This past Sunday was the Sunday when we light the candle of Joy on the Advent wreath and the think about Mary in particular. For some reason the weight of her plight has really hit home with me this year. I remember what it was like to be 9 months pregnant, waiting for something to happen...but for some reason that kind of anticipation has not really been a part of my past Advent experiences.
But this year I am thinking about that kind of pregnant waiting...the time when you know that something is going to happen, you just don't know when. Yesterday I preached on Isaiah 35: 1-10 and talked about how people who are in the midst of difficulties long for something different...they hang onto the promise that life will be better tomorrow. But sometimes it is not tomorrow, or the next day, or the next year, or the next decade. Sometimes promises take a long time to be fulfilled.
But maybe what I'm picking up on this Advent is that promises are eventually fulfilled...it is truly not a matter of if, but a matter of when. So this Advent has been filled with the pregnant possibility that God is up to something that will be revealed someday. Although I don't completely understand God's time, I know that it is not a matter of if...only a matter of when.
Journey On...
Monday, December 17, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Friday Five
Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals writes:
Can you believe that in two days we'll be halfway through Advent? Gaudete Sunday: pink candle on the advent wreath, rose vestments for those who have them, concerts and pageants in many congregations. Time to rejoice!
Rejoice in the nearness of Christ's coming, yes, but also in the many gifts of the pregnant waiting time when the world (in the northern hemisphere, at least) spins ever deeper into sweet, fertile darkness.
What makes you rejoice about:
1. Waiting?
I think sometimes our greatest joys and anxieties come from waiting. In Advent, the waiting for the arrival of the Christ child is filled with lots of hope and promise.
2. Darkness?
I live in Washington State and the days here really do get short. We hit the Winter Solstice (The Longest Night of the year) on December 21st. The thing that I rejoice in with darkness is that it is bearable and it doesn't last forever. I always think of Chiaroscuro and how without both light and dark, there would not be contrast to create depth in paintings and photos. Darkness is not always to the most comfortable or fun place to be, but God is with us and will help to lead us back to light.
3. Winter?
Winter makes us slow down. If it is cold and rainy (or snowy), you can't go outside and work on your house or in your yard--you don't even think about those things. So you kind of have to slow down in winter and, for me, it is a good time for reflective thinking and praying.
4. Advent?
I rejoice that Advent helps us to remember the sacred in Christmas. I had some folks requesting more Christmas songs in worship...to which I responded, "it's not Christmas yet." The retailers have been telling us its Christmas since late October, but in the church we recognize that we have to wait. And waiting for Christ's arrival is much like waiting for God's guidance in our lives--we cannot rush it or make it fit as we would like to in our own schedules--it comes in God's time.
5. Jesus' coming?
I'm about to dive into my sermon for this week (based on the Isaiah text) and one of the things I grapple with is living in the tension of what we hope for in Jesus' coming and the sad reality of the world around us. Frankly, I never fully rejoice at Christmas because I can never fully forget the suffering of those in my community, country and in other places around the world. So I hope the someday, through Jesus, things will be as they should.
Journey On...
Can you believe that in two days we'll be halfway through Advent? Gaudete Sunday: pink candle on the advent wreath, rose vestments for those who have them, concerts and pageants in many congregations. Time to rejoice!
Rejoice in the nearness of Christ's coming, yes, but also in the many gifts of the pregnant waiting time when the world (in the northern hemisphere, at least) spins ever deeper into sweet, fertile darkness.
What makes you rejoice about:
1. Waiting?
I think sometimes our greatest joys and anxieties come from waiting. In Advent, the waiting for the arrival of the Christ child is filled with lots of hope and promise.
2. Darkness?
I live in Washington State and the days here really do get short. We hit the Winter Solstice (The Longest Night of the year) on December 21st. The thing that I rejoice in with darkness is that it is bearable and it doesn't last forever. I always think of Chiaroscuro and how without both light and dark, there would not be contrast to create depth in paintings and photos. Darkness is not always to the most comfortable or fun place to be, but God is with us and will help to lead us back to light.
3. Winter?
Winter makes us slow down. If it is cold and rainy (or snowy), you can't go outside and work on your house or in your yard--you don't even think about those things. So you kind of have to slow down in winter and, for me, it is a good time for reflective thinking and praying.
4. Advent?
I rejoice that Advent helps us to remember the sacred in Christmas. I had some folks requesting more Christmas songs in worship...to which I responded, "it's not Christmas yet." The retailers have been telling us its Christmas since late October, but in the church we recognize that we have to wait. And waiting for Christ's arrival is much like waiting for God's guidance in our lives--we cannot rush it or make it fit as we would like to in our own schedules--it comes in God's time.
5. Jesus' coming?
I'm about to dive into my sermon for this week (based on the Isaiah text) and one of the things I grapple with is living in the tension of what we hope for in Jesus' coming and the sad reality of the world around us. Frankly, I never fully rejoice at Christmas because I can never fully forget the suffering of those in my community, country and in other places around the world. So I hope the someday, through Jesus, things will be as they should.
Journey On...
Monday, December 3, 2007
One Sock
I heard a story on the NPR the other day about a dog who had eaten close to 100 pairs of socks. That dog must know my dog. Our dog, for a while now, has gotten in the habit of digging in the laundry basket and pulling out our socks. At first he'd just nibble on them, but then he started taking big chunks out of them and now some of them just disappear (and sometimes reappear later--ewwwww!).
My dog's sock eating habit is annoying at best and maddening at worst. I now own a big bag of orphaned socks and am often frustrated because I cannot find socks for me or for my child as we are rushing through our mornings to get dressed.
But I realized something the other day...you really can put two slightly mismatched socks together and they still work! What I, having grown up in the land of plenty, failed to realize is that there are people in the world who would love to have my bag of mismatched socks because they still have plenty of wear left in them.
In this time of shopping for Christmas gifts and excessive giving, I am trying to simplify more and stress less...trying to remember to be thankful for the less-than-obvious gifts that are in front of me everyday.
So my socks don't match, but I do have socks and my feet are warm on this cold, rainy day. Thank you God.
Journey On...
My dog's sock eating habit is annoying at best and maddening at worst. I now own a big bag of orphaned socks and am often frustrated because I cannot find socks for me or for my child as we are rushing through our mornings to get dressed.
But I realized something the other day...you really can put two slightly mismatched socks together and they still work! What I, having grown up in the land of plenty, failed to realize is that there are people in the world who would love to have my bag of mismatched socks because they still have plenty of wear left in them.
In this time of shopping for Christmas gifts and excessive giving, I am trying to simplify more and stress less...trying to remember to be thankful for the less-than-obvious gifts that are in front of me everyday.
So my socks don't match, but I do have socks and my feet are warm on this cold, rainy day. Thank you God.
Journey On...
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