AdventPrayers 2016

Christ Church Cathedral

The Diocese of Southern Ohio

Photo credits: David Thomson

Advent begins as a contentious campaign season winds down. In the tumultuous presidential race, voters chose between two very different candidates and their opposing world views. The prejudice and lack of civil discourse that were stirred up seemed unprecedented.

Advent reminds us that there is another realm, one in which we are citizens in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 describes that domain by telling us that in Christ we are reconciled to God, and that we are given the ministry, and message of reconciliation.

In the spirit of that message and ministry, Christ Church Cathedral offers this compilation of Advent meditations from past seasons for Advent 2016. Because entries from prior years were so insightful it was difficult to choose.

As we read each meditation, let us take time to center ourselves and listen. And at the end, let us ask for the gift of grace to empower us to reach out into the world with love.

David ThomsonNoel Julnes-DehnerBooklet Coordinators

ADVENT 2016

ADVENT WEEK 1

November 27

For me, Advent is a time to get quiet, to turn inward, even more oftenthan I normally do. It’s a time for a reassessment of my prayer life andmy relationship with God. Do I spend more time in the Kingdom of theEmpire or in the Kingdom of God? Silence brings me directly into theKingdom of God. Like Elijah at Mount Horeb, I hear God not in the noiseor the busyness but in the silence.

Thomas Merton wrote in Thoughts in Solitude that it is the lack of silencethat makes people crazy, that “solitude is a way to defend the spirit againstthe ‘murderous din’ of our materialism.” I have spent weeks in silent retreatat the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, and for the past several years Ispent every Friday at Holy Cross Monastery in upstate New York. Beingat a monastery gives me space for silence, space to allow God in, spaceto be reminded that “one does not live by bread alone, but by every wordthat comes from the mouth of God.” But I don’t often have the luxury ofregularly spending time in a monastery now, so I have to find ways tocreate that monastic silence for myself. I do that most of the time throughan intentional practice of praying the Office and taking the time for silentprayer and meditation.

The world screams at me all day long. What I hear are mostly lies tellingme that I’m not good enough, or that something material will fill thisgaping wound inside me, or that God doesn’t really care. When I get quietI hear the truth: I am forgiven. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, andnothing can separate me from the love of God.

In silence, especially during Advent, I remember that I am waiting for ourSavior to be born. God is here and God is coming. Alleluia.

I pray during this Advent season that the love of Jesus Christ would guide you in all you do.

Remember those who have lost loved ones and live alone. Sometimes the greatest gift that you can give is of your time to someone who isfeeling alone.

A kind word goes a long way to brightening up someone’s day. Sometimes you just want someone to call.

November 29

Why do I find it so difficult to offer an Advent prayer? So many other things crowd out God’s message? I know I need to slow down—take a deep breath and clear my head.

But so much gets in the way.So many solicitations for time—and money,

The endless computer messages,Gift catalogues overflowing my mailbox.

What do I do to hear the good tidings of Advent?First, I need to open myself to the Advent message.

This means shutting out much of the daily noise. I need to experience my personal Advent. And prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth.So I may celebrate in my soul.

Peace on Earth, good will toward all.

November 28

November 30

Lord, I’m waiting for a text, email or a word in my ear or in my head,so that I can stay in touch. Without contact, I’m tossed around andforced to multitask increasingly irrelevant information. I’m at riskfor some form of soul death by data asphyxiation. I’m also at risk forsurvival because of the sheer loudness of repetition and the ubiquityof over-quantified trivia. Push your SEND button, Lord.

December 1

“Come Lord Jesus, be with us.” From the first Sunday of Advent, when we put the faux candles in the windows, through Christmas Eve, “Come Lord Jesus, be with us” is the prayer we said as we turned each bulb or plugged in each light. Over the years, as photocell candles became more prevalent in our Advent array, the prayer became a mantra as we set up the candles, and each night the candles miraculously illumined the glass.

As Advent begins the new year for liturgical Christians such as Episcopalians, starting the year with a regular, simple prayer sets the tonefor the weeks and months that follow. It is foolish to think that without our invitation God is not present in our lives. However, when wedo extend the invitation—“Please, be with us”—then we are opening our hearts and spirits to God’s presence in ways that lead us to a deeperrelationship with our creator.

Advent’s quiet sensibilities are a stark contrast to the frenzy that accompanies the pre-Christmas social calendar and cultural expectations. Pausing each day to ask Jesus to “be with us” can help us refocus our energy in ways that are reflective of the gift of God’s spirit in our lives, including a particularly generous spirit toward those who are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. The gift of this quiet prayer is a simple reminder that our actions are both preparation for the coming of the Lord,and a reflection of our faith.“Come Lord Jesus, be with us.”

December 2

Come, Holy Spirit, come. Be with us in our dark times of not knowing.Come, like an angel. Shake us to know your presence. Give us grace to receive you. Midwife our rebirth. And like the wise men, direct our way, always, towards you.

December 3

Heavenly Father, during the Advent season we see many things adorned with holiday lights—our city, our neighborhoods, our homes, and our trees. We also see the beauty of light in the glow of candles throughout our cathedral as we worship during this blessed season. All of these beautiful forms of light bring smiles to our faces, and bring feelings of excitement, joy and anticipation to the hearts of our children.

Help us to remember that light is a sign of hope, a symbol of the coming of the Christ child, and a warm reminder of God’s love for us. We feel so blessed to be surrounded and comforted by this very special light. Remind us to carry the light of Christ into the world each day, showing his love in all that we say and do in our daily life and work. Bless us this Advent season —help us to let our own light so shine that others may see and feel the love of Christ through us. Amen.

December 4

Father in Heaven, Mother to All, and Guardian of the Universe:

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of light and the morning sunrise that stirs the heart and awakens our souls to the possibilities of each new day;

Thank You, Lord, for bringing light into our darkness, and for the gifts of hope, love and happiness;

We ask for strength, wisdom and courage—so that we may be worthy of your gifts. And we pray that we will forever show our gratitude through service to you and your creation. Amen.

December 5

As Advent approaches, I am filled with the desire to focus on bringingGod into my life as I am living it right now. Each day aging brings newchallenges.

Each step I take and each decision I make I want to call on God to guideme, even about what I should eat for breakfast. Remember the saying“What would Jesus do?” I live alone and take care of myself, with theloving help of friends who have worked for me for many years. However,I am responsible, and I know in my heart that reaching out to God to leadme is for me to ask. What a better day it becomes!

Slowing down at this beginning of the church year can be for me a newbeginning. It is a time to put my activities and desires in balance with thereality of my life. Only with God’s help can I succeed; without him I willbe a disappointment to myself, but still a loving child of God.

December 6

Another Advent returns. A child opens his eyes in his blessed mother’sarms. His first cries ring out as songs of triumph that banish fear andsadness to another realm. An infant, clothed in human weakness, setsthe precedent for the rest of the world to come. I am saved from my owndarkness because of his light—and I am speechless.

Light and dark: our greatest paradox and our greatest strength. DuringAdvent we watch as the dark and broken world discovers the light ofChrist. This light is hope. This light is love. This light is life: physicaland eternal, and better than anything we could have ever wished for.Night will always beget day, and grace has no limits. I am assured. I amthankful.

To my holy and most merciful Father: Thank you for carrying us and ourburdens through the darkness. Thank you for sending us your son, themost brilliant and steady light, who shines into the darkened corners ofour souls and lifts us out of our sin and sadness, into grace and freedom.To the blessed and perfect Son, Jesus Christ: Thank you for setting ourhearts ablaze with your love and passion and glory. Thank you for givingus the endless chance to start again. Thank you for being born.

To the Holy Spirit: Thank you for enveloping us tightly and completely,even when we can’t feel it. Thank you for walking with us wherever wego, and for being the lantern that guides our weary feet safely down thedarkened paths we may travel.

ADVENT WEEK 2

December 7

Advent. A time of expectancy, waiting. Waiting for presents to beunwrapped, for gifts to be given to us and our loved ones. “Unto us a childis born,” we will sing Christmas morning. How happy we will be.It wasn’t always about gifts for us. “Adventus” is Latin for the Greek word “Parousia”. To early Christians, this meant the Second Coming of Christ. The birth had already happened. Fasting, penitence, preparation for the Day of Judgment—this was the challenge of Advent.

This year, instead of Advent calendars offering us a gift each day, let’smake Advent calendars with offerings we will make—give to the poor,visit someone who’s ill, volunteer time, commit an act of kindness to anenemy, invite someone you don’t like to dinner, read a Gospel through, seekforgiveness. In short, prepare. This is the active part of waiting, waiting forthe Day of Judgment when our lives will be summed up before the throneof God. Will we be found worthy or wanting? This was a great question forearly Christians: how to prepare as Christ waited to return.

Perhaps we have it backwards. Perhaps it’s God who is waiting for us.Advent is a time we can offer ourselves to the great summons. What are wewaiting for? What are you waiting for? And what will you do these weeksto celebrate new life on Christmas Day, better prepared for the Day ofJudgment?

December 8

Are we there yet? Is it time now? Will it be over soon?

These all sound very familiar to us. And probably always have topeople. Did Mary ask Joseph on the way to Bethlehem, Are we thereyet? Or maybe she was already pondering in her heart the meaningof the coming birth.

We want to get quickly through the tedious parts of life, the anxiousand painful ones, and get to the good stuff.

We want the baby to get here already. We’re ready for dinner. We want this illness to be gone. We want to open the presents under the tree. And we want Jesus to show up again and make everything right. But as we hurry anxiously (and excitedly) toward Christmas, let’s take some time to think about what will happen when the waiting is over. What does it mean to be waiting for Jesus to appear?

December 9

O Holy Spirit, help us recognize the cycle of life—endings and beginnings—the transitions from joy to sorrow and back to joy again. Help us to trust in that coming joy—not to be lost in the sorrowand dwell there.

Help us to examine the meaning of the transitions in our lives, ourchurch, our world, our faith, and learn from the lessons providedfor our growth.

Help us to love and connect with others, all human beings who areone in the universe. Sharing and caring support us during bothdark and light times.

Help us to rest in your infinite love when we are consumed bydoubt and the dark—to know that the light is always there for us.Help us to celebrate the coming of the light through the birth ofJesus Christ this Advent season.

December 10

O Lord, help me prepare for this sacred and joyous season.

As the season becomes hectic, help me to remember to slow down and enjoy the love of my family, friends and church community.

Allow me to recognize those in need and realize that time, friendship and love are the greatest and often the most cherished gifts during the holiday season.

December 11

Am I waiting, or am I preparing? Oh, I have waited. When I was a smallchild, each year my mother sat us down and we made an Advent chain:twenty-four green construction paper links and one red one, waiting onthe bulletin board in the kitchen for us to remove one link each morning.While we waited, we dreamed of the gifts and the goodies. We foughtsleep Christmas Eve, listening for Santa and watching the clock myparents sent to bed with us, with orders not to get up before 6:00 a.m. Wedid everything little minds could think of to hurry the night along.As I got older, waiting became preparing. I had roles in Christmas plays,lines to learn and costumes to make. I sang in choirs at school andat church, and shopped and wrapped gifts for family and friends. Aschildhood moved into adulthood, the preparation became more intenseand was complicated with work and family expectations, and the stress ofit all.

Am I waiting or am I preparing? Juggling the demands of work andchurch and family can be exhausting. I want to go back to the waiting.I long for the simple joy of the daily progress toward the one red link inthe paper chain. However, Advent never loses that sense of anticipationif we balance the waiting and preparing. Stop and wait. Remember theanticipation. Come, thou long expected Jesus, and surprise us with yourpresence in the crazy pace of preparations that the Christmas seasonhas become.

December 12

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our redeemer.*

Who wants to listen to someone who tells us that we are walking on thewrong path? It takes grace to listen to prophets preach that there are peoplewe are not seeing, voices we are not hearing, resources we are not sharing.These prophets prepare us for the One who is coming: staying in our ownworld and sticking with self-congratulation will not be the words that Jesusproclaims.

Let us pray for grace to listen to prophets. *The Book of Common Prayer

December 13

Lord God, our Life Force, please bless our friends, our enemies and all people throughout your creation. Teach us to live together with respect, love, caring support and celebration of each other as neighbors and as your children.

Help us to be selfless and join hands to soothe the deep hurt of so many known only to you.

Cast off our biases so we may move from despair to a positive flow ofenergy and be one together in your loving arms.

Let the spirit of compassion you have placed in each of us emergefrom Advent to a blossom for all seasons.

Thank you for your eternal patience and goodness. We ask these giftsof you in Christ’s name.

ADVENT WEEK 3

December 14

“Silent Night, holy night,All is calm, all is bright.” (Joseph Mohr)

“How silently, how silentlyThe wondrous gift is given!” (Phillips Brooks)

“Still, still, still,Weil’s Kindlein schlafen will!” (Georg Gotsch)

God’s gift to the waiting world is offered quietly—humbly—imploring usto listen with our inner souls and to quiet the clangor of the busyness ofthis commercial world.

Let us prepare to truly welcome this new life.

This Advent, on a clear night go outside and look up into the starry nightand be totally awed by what surrounds us, and listen in silence.

December 15

Christmas has become a celebration of elaborate giving, when we indulge in the self-congratulations of being a generous people. Our gifts and works of charity confirm our status and self-image as a powerful, competent and self-sufficient people. Lord, keep us from the arrogance of giving.

We are not as comfortable receiving, of acknowledging that we are the needy ones. Yet the Christmas story is about God’s gift to us, a gift of divine presence, not because we are self-sufficient, but because we were, and still are, in desperate need of God’s love and of one another.

O, my God, as we do your work in the world, teach us humility. Help us show compassion, avoid judgment and see all your children as our brothers and sisters.

December 16

I will remember the reason for the season

In the quiet of the morning, dear Lord, I feel you tug on my heart and whisper in my ear this season to remember: those who are alone, those who mourn loved ones and days gone by, and those who have lost the joy in the gift of life that you have given us today.

Help me feel your presence in the busy-ness of this season, and to remember the simplicity of your message; to remember you are at the center of my life, to give from my heart by extending a hand in compassion, and to come together in community to give praise and thanksgiving.I remember the joy in your promise of life everlasting, the promisethat began with your birth.

December 17

Advent is a time of anticipation, expectation, of hope—the waiting for our new King.

Almighty Father, help us to order our lives to those things that you have ordained: to love one another, eliminate poverty, seek justice for all. Make us whole. Grant that we will receive our Redeemer with open hearts and gratitude, and remind us that things are holy not only because they are perceived, but that they are hoped for.

December 18

Advent is not so far from Pentecost. In Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus,Mary the young virgin is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and becomesthe Mother of God. In Luke’s account of Pentecost, Mary, now an olderwoman who has seen her son crucified, is present with the disciples in theupper room. We don’t know what Mary did when the Spirit descended onher at Pentecost, but we know what she did the first time around. Perhapsfrightened, perhaps exuberant, she ran to her older cousin, Elizabeth, readyto share with a trusted role model what God had called her to do.

This reminds us that Advent is not just a season of waiting or a time forpreparation. It is also an invitation to adventure. The words “advent”and “adventure” are closely related. “Advent” is about what’s coming,and “adventure” is about how we run out to meet it. The same Spirit thatovershadowed Mary (at least twice!) has claimed us in our baptism andstands ready to make good on that claim when we least expect it. That’s theadventure we’re invited into.

How shall we set out on this adventure? It is as simple as it is hard. Whenwe are merciful, and trust that God will take care of the rest, we’re on theroad. Mercy toward the neighbor is the same as yes to God. So kindliness toanyone puts us in Mary’s place, and then, like her, we’re off and running.

December 19

Advent is a dangerous season. Do we truly understand the risk of prayingweek after week, “O come, O come, Emmanuel”? Can we mortals—wewith our mixed motives and half-hearted loves—stay in one piece whenconfronted with the enormity of God’s goodness? One of our Adventhymns—number 57 in The Hymnal 1982—speaks to this:

Every eye shall now behold him,robed in dreadful majesty;those who set at nought and sold him,pierced and nailed him to the tree,deeply wailing, shall the true Messiah see?

I see myself in this. I remember times I have wept, discovering that myanxieties have blinded me to the deepest need of a loved one, crushing heror him. If God truly comes to us in the overwhelming way we claim to seek,how can we not be overcome with grief at the ways we have set Jesus atnought in our relationships?

Thankfully, I also see myself in the next stanza:

Those dear tokens of his passionstill his dazzling body bears,cause of endless exultationto his ransomed worshipers;with what rapture gaze we on those glorious scars.*

If the fleeting glimpses of God’s heart we experience are anything to judge by, a fuller vision of God’s passionate thirst for our rescue from despair anddeath must be rapturous indeed. Advent is a dangerous season. We had better be careful, lest we open ourselves to the depths of God’s love—a love that will risk bringing to light our deepest failings so that it may bathe us in grace and drive us to new ways of being.

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! * Written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788).

ADVENT WEEK 4

December 20

The Advent Season is a period of waiting in anticipation and celebrationof the coming of the light of God in the world. We celebrate Christ’s birthat the time of the winter solstice, the darkest day in our journey aroundthe sun. It is a time that the night sky is sprinkled with the sparkle ofbright planets and millions of distant stars. I can imagine the wonder ourancestors experienced as they beheld the bright spectacle that spread acrossthe heavens at the time of Christ’s birth. Bishop Steven Charleston capturesthat wonder in this December meditation:

At prayer this morning, beneath the clear night sky, I saw a shooting star,as bright as though it were drawn by the hand of a playful God. A signin the heavens. A message of presence. I know enough science to explainit away, but I choose not to. I choose mystery. I choose meaning. I hopewe all see the hand of God in the wonder of life around us. In wind andwave, in birds and branches, in shaded woods beneath high mountains. Ihope we never fail to find the edges, the thin places, where God surprisesus with the message: I am here.*

In this Advent season, I hope we can all experience the wonder and joy ofbeing alive and know that God is here. *“Hope as Old as Fire”. 2012: Red Moon Publications

December 21

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promises I made,” — Jeremiah 33:1.

Advent begins with this reading, with stories of unfulfilled hopes anddreams. Life has been tough. Hope seems to have taken an extendedsabbatical, leaving us to wonder, “Where do I go from here?” That’s whyI love the voice of the prophets during this season. Jeremiah declaresthat despite every sign to the contrary, the days are coming when God’spromises will be fulfilled. When next we hear similar words, “In thosedays a decree went out from Emperor Augustus,” these words fromLuke’s gospel about the birth of Jesus seem eerily familiar to Jeremiah’s,and the memory of Jeremiah’s prophecy should come to mind. We shouldrecall that in those days when hope was lost, when refugees made theirway to the borders, when nights and hearts were cold and unwelcoming,God—not the Emperor—God listened to the cry of God’s people. In small,unremarkable places, God is working. God will be born. Listen to thepromise. Wait on the Lord.

December 22

What are we waiting for?

Taken from a love song written by Duncan James, these words speakAdvent to me in a slightly different context. In our family, we pull out theAdvent wreath, light the candles at dinner, try to pray the daily meditationsof Henri Nouwen, and take turns eating the daily piece of chocolate,counting down the days to Christmas. Aside from the chocolate, we aretrying to prepare our hearts and minds for the remembrance of Jesus’incarnation.

During the weeks leading up to Christmas, the choir rehearses religiousChristmas music, which takes the surprise out of the season, but doescenter your mind on the humbleness of Jesus’ birth. David R. Henson, anEpiscopal priest from the Diocese of Northern California, wrote that thecircumstances of Jesus’ birth were a searing affront. It was degrading to beborn among animals in an occupied nation of the most powerful empire inthe world. It was not quaint. Read Henson’s “Christmas, Undocumented”for a story turned upside down and totally reworked about what Jesus’ birthmight look like in present day.

Each year, Jesus’ birth narrative represents less of a gift to me, but insteadmore of an emptying of God into the world for those who will notice. TheGospels are filled with commands and parables that ask us to keep awake, watch, and wait. It could be easy to miss God’s confrontation with the world in the birth of Jesus. We need just to glimpse what we are waiting for.

December 23

My name is Hope. I was born a child of the world.

I was born to serve. I was just a baby.I am now grown.I am uncertain.I am called to do my Father’s will.I will be open and accepting of all.I will be patient. I will listen for when you call my name.My name is Hope.

December 24

Dear Lord and Father of all, Hear our prayer.For your divine healing of the public civilityFor love of neighbor gone astray.Hear our prayer, O Lord.Incline our ear to your mercy.Help us to see one another,Human beings all. And of your creation.Touch our hearts. Open our eyes and our minds.Caring of human poverty and want,Lend our hands to the need of others.Inspire us to look to your coming whenEvery valley shall be exalted,The crooked road made straight, And the rough ways made smooth.Teach us to number our days.To speak in justice for those without voiceIn places public and places private.To the honor and glory of your name. Amen.

CONTRIBUTORS

November 27 Debbi RhodesNovember 28 Crystal JonesNovember 29 Pat CoyleNovember 30 David FeddersDecember 1 Anne ReedDecember 2 Merrilee AdkinsDecember 3 Dawn BruestleDecember 4 Mark SackettDecember 5 Jean KinmonthDecember 6 Danielle AdamsDecember 7 Joe DehnerDecember 8 Nancy ChristensenDecember 9 Linda GossmanDecember 10 Jane Page-SteinerDecember 11 Susan WestDecember 12 Noel Julnes-DehnerDecember 13 Tony WalchDecember 14 David ThomsonDecember 15 Elizabeth BrownDecember 16 Judy DahlDecember 17 Curt BubelDecember 18 Tom BreidenthalDecember 19 Stephan CasurellaDecember 20 John GrateDecember 21 Gail GreenwellDecember 22 Kathy MankDecember 23 Stacey SandsDecember 24 Merelyn Bates-Mims

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