Tag Archives: Advent

Riding the RCL into Advent

26 Monday Nov 2018

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Christmas lights are going up around the street, but it’s not Christmas yet. Our Christmas tree will go up on Christmas Eve and stay for the 12 days of the Nativity commemorations. Next Sunday readings begin the four week season of Advent that precedes Christmas. Like the season of Lent, it is a purple season of preparation that involves fasting!  To observe Advent in the way it is intended is therefore quite counter cultural. Following the texts of the four anticipatory Sundays of Advent can therefore help us, even if it is for a brief pause of reflection.

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Advent is the season where we meet the prophets pointing forward with hope to the culmination of the big picture. They do so from their own context, but with wider ramifications. They are very much “today.” Jeremiah surveys a bleak political scene and points to the rise of days when the balance of justice and peace will be restored. 
And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Psalm 25:1-10

Psalms are both personal and communal declarations we make towards the Holy One, whose inexpressible name is often rendered through print in uppercase letters as “LORD”, the English translation of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton “YHWH,” the sound of breath, or the action of being.  We are always addressing the Mystery, the Ineffable, in Whom we live and move and have our being. To be able to express contrition and hope with such trust and intimacy is a gift that Advent brings us.
 
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Advent preparation involves us as people who are already living the Easter reality. That which we anticipate has already come to pass. This is why Paul exudes such confidence in the joy and love in which the Thessalonian church is called to live. It is possible to simultaneously appropriate and anticipate the realm of Shalom – the Holy One’s perfect reign.

Luke 21:25-36

What a scary passage to begin the year of Luke! But we are in Advent, the season of prophets, who tell it like it is. Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the road of service that lies ahead. It’s not going to be an easy stroll – all sorts of obstacles await and events will mount a daunting and discouraging scale. Hope in the vision of what they have witnessed and the reality of the struggle in which they have participated and the union with Christ that is their continuing experience is what will sustain them, even when the world is falling apart.

Advent Voices – Christmas Eve

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

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COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_IJzeren_voetring_voor_gevangenen_TMnr_3912-475Festivity and celebration occur for very good reasons. In our pampered state, it marks a break in routine, a legitimate season to hang loose and indulge the hedonistic sides of our nature. In our reflective state, we realise that a momentous event in the history of our world caused a seismic shift in our perception of who we are. One that first defined the universe with the words “Let there be light” made a visitation and dwelled amongst us for a season. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the assembly in Galatia, he writes of our “adoption.” No longer are we slaves to our limited perceptions, but sons and daughters of the divine, heirs to a brand new perspective, freed to live life for each other abundantly.

Advent Voices: Titus tantalises

23 Tuesday Dec 2014

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Святой Апостол Тит Критский Косово, XIV век. Печь Патриаршия. Церковь св. Николая Public Domain

Святой Апостол Тит Критский Косово, XIV век. Печь Патриаршия. Церковь св. Николая Public Domain

Two days before Christmas, a minor voice from the New Testament speaks out. Squeezed obscurely between Timothy and Philemon, not large players themselves, Titus has a voice worth listening to:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation [health, integrity, wholeness] to all… 

Two days out from Christmas, Titus reminds us that, ultimately, a gift has been revealed, the implications of which are still not fully grasped by the human race, even those who are the bearers of the good news, the custodians of its narratives and the living witnesses to its effects. Titus goes on to spell out some practical implications of receiving this grace, thus sharpening our focus. It seems that the Advent task of preparation and the Christmas task of celebrating and spreading the news come together when we hear the voice of Titus.

Advent Voices: Expectant prophet

22 Monday Dec 2014

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Christmas Pilgrims, Bethlehem. Public Domain

Christmas Pilgrims, Bethlehem. Public Domain

Incarnation looms near. An expectant mother is amongst others as they make their way along the crowded track to their ancestral town, by order of the census officials. The words of an old oracle from an expectant prophet ring in her ears as the throng plods its weary way. Expectant mother; expectant prophet – their musings transcend the cold and insistent demands of bureaucracy:

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined…

…For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.

He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onwards and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 (NRSV)




					


	





	

								
Fourth Sunday in Advent – Love
										

			21
			Sunday
			Dec 2014
		

	
	

		

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Advent 4And so the set of four Advent candles have been lit.


Candles of anticipation – hope, peace, joy and, finally, love.


The Australian community has been galvanised in the aftermath of three unspeakable acts of violence – the Martin Place siege, the Peshawar school massacre, and a family tragedy in Cairns.


Amidst crowd reactions of grief, sorrow and miscomprehension, we have seen love arising. Words of comfort and focus have emerged as closest relatives addressed the population. An inevitable backlash against scapegoats has been tempered by the spontaneous and viral #illridewithyou campaign. Someone noted that riding public transport is no longer anonymous as people, sharing a common sense of loss, no longer lose themselves in phone and tablet screens but become more willing to engage one another.


The popular Gosford Anglican “wayside pulpit” sums it all up: “SYDNEY, PESHAWAR, CAIRNS: #LETTHEREBELIGHT”.  The Advent gift of love is never really far below the surface. Momentous events that peel back the superficial reveal the potential for communities to recalibrate and express their potency for good. And we are now ready to receive and contemplate once more the momentous event of Incarnation which embodies two trending hashtags – #illridewithyou and #lettherebelight.

					


	






	

								
Advent Voices: a candle in the dark
										

			19
			Friday
			Dec 2014
		

	
	

		

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candleAdvent draws expectant attention to an arrival of one divinely anointed to fix the mess we’re in. It’s a season that both highlights the chaos of a violent world and the pregnant promise of its resolution. Advent’s themes are in tension – no more so this week than when the siege in Sydney and the horrendous Peshawar school massacre heightened the world’s sensitivities. Can the Advent themes of hope, peace, joy and love really win through? Expressions of community solidarity gave life to the maxim “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”


This morning’s text from Romans16:25-27 serves a similar “lighting of the candle” function. It is sometimes repeated at the conclusion of church services as worshippers prepare to leave the sanctuary to return to the chaos of everyday living.


Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever! Amen.

					


	






	

								
Advent Voices: the strong voice of Mary
										

			17
			Wednesday
			Dec 2014
		

	
	

		

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Annunciation by Paolo de Matteis, 1712. The white lily in the angel's hand is symbolic of Mary's purity [1] in Marian art.[2]. Public Domain
Annunciation by Paolo de Matteis, 1712. The white lily in the angel’s hand is symbolic of Mary’s purity [1] in Marian art.[2]. Public Domain
Today’s text, Luke 1:26-38, is illustrated throughout our world’s art galleries and museums as the “Annunciation.”  The imposing and other-worldly figure of Gabriel is depicted speaking words of life-changing import to a young woman, Mary, who seems simultaneously beatific and non-plussed. Tradition has emphasised her piety and holiness. The narrative in the text highlights her perplexity at being told that she will bear a child of divine import and the manner in which she will conceive. The personal and social impact of Gabriel’s announcement might have been most troubling.


Mary’s final response is, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”


These are strong words – more than mere submission. They are alignment with revealed purpose – and thus a true Advent voice!

					


	





	

								
Advent Voices – #illridewithyou
										

			16
			Tuesday
			Dec 2014
		

	
	

		

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#illridewithyouThe aftermath of yesterday’s siege in Sydney with this morning’s tragic loss of life occupies the airwaves. Community empathy washes on two shores. Hearts go out to the victims and their families.  They also reach out to apprehensive Muslim communities, who are also shocked and appalled by what took place in the hands of one mentally sick individual acting out under the discourse of their faith. Based on precedent, adherents of Islam brace themselves for community backlash.


The hashtag #illridewithyou has shifted what might have become an ugly undercurrent in reactions to the siege. It originated with Sydneysider Rachel Jacobs who noticed a young woman fearfully removing her hijab while riding public transport. She urged her to put it back on, saying, “I’ll ride with you.”  Shortly after, she described her experience on Twitter, using the now viral hashtag #illridewithyou.


The phenomenal power of social media was almost instantaneous. Even, while the siege continued, something happened to the zeitgeist of fear that loomed over the city and nation. #illridewithyou trended as men and women from all walks of life reassured their Muslim neighbours and even strangers, “We’re all in this together.”


It is as if the whole Australian community has found a rallying point around a simple sound-byte that carries so much punch – a simple set of words that helps the community overcome recent times of political and media manipulated polarisation across a range of public issues. Yes, it is still possible to claim the oft trumped nation’s ideal of unity in diversity against the most horrendous circumstances.


“I’ll ride with you.” Truly today’s Advent voice!