1

Advent 2013MEDITATIONS BY THE PEOPLE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN EAST TENNESSEE

A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE EAST TENNESSEE EPISCOPALIAN

Churches across the Diocese of East Tennessee have written meditations, poems, songs, and ponderings and provided photographs to share with you during the season of Advent. These have been combined with a few meditations generously shared

by Forward Movement from the book From the Holly Jolly to the Holy: Reclaiming the Sacred During Advent and Christmas, by Jim Rosenthal.

We hope you will fi nd this booklet meaningful on your journey through this time when we deliberately try to slow down and anticipate although the world around us seems to be speeding toward Christmas.

We hope you will take a few moments each day to read, pray and consider what this season brings to you – and to prepare for the birth of Jesus in you.

Advent2013

Photo by the Rev. Amy MorehousChurch of the Ascension, Knoxville

Peace be within your walls, and quietness within your towers. — Psalm 122:7

DECEMBER 1

WAITING

On a cold night in February, I sat beside my grandmother,

occasionally resting my hand on top of hers. I remember how rough her fi ngernails were from a lifetime of scrubbing clothes on an old steel washboard, and how delicate the skin on the back of her hands had become.

When her sleep was restless, I would stroke her hand, and she would calm. As I glanced out the window, I saw that fl akes of snow had begun sifting down from the sky. Unhurried, they drifted to rest on the birdhouse in front of the window. I watched the snow accumulate, and I listened to my grandmother’s breathing alternately rasp, and then gentle. That quiet

night, she and I were both waiting for something holy, and the time seemed both infi nite, and far too short.

I’m not sure if my grandmother was transformed by that holy waiting that we did together, but I know that I was. This was no passive waiting, but instead, providing holy space for God to move in both our lives. It was a brief moment of kairos time, time completely outside the everyday demands that life places on us. God’s time. Transformational time.

We are all called to that same waiting during Advent, the season of expectation – of transformation. Waiting, expecting and hoping are important, but so is the company we keep while we do it – in community, we

hold hope for one another. We wait with our families, with our communities of faith, with the whole human family. Christ will come among us; Christ will renew each of us and the whole world.

Until He does, we wait together for the fulfi llment of the promise, and we invite others to watch with us, seeking and affi rming the in-breaking of Christ’s presence into our lives. We hold one another’s hands, we look ahead, we leave holy space and we wait in hope. Together. In time, we, too, will be transformed.

Thanks be to God.

The Rev. Amy MorehousCHURCH OF THE ASCENSION, KNOXVILLE

Ilearned the original or fi rst defi nition of the word “radical” last week from a friend. Radical means “of, or pertaining to, the root of something.”

I believe that “letting go” is at the root of our faith lives. The scriptures feature story after story of God inviting God’s children to radically let go.

Adam and Eve had to let go of the garden. Abram (Abraham, Father Abraham, later) was called by God to let go of his country, his kindred, and the heritage of his father’s house.

The Israelites were called to let go of the manna that fed their hungry bellies every day.

Each day would bring new, promised manna, and they were not to hold to or store up that food.

Moreover, these Israelites were to let go of their self-directed ways and allow God to lead them as their constant companion in the twin pillars of cloud and fi re.

Then Jesus came on the scene and called the rich young ruler to let go of everything he owned. Jesus called the

RADICAL ADVENTDECEMBER 2 disciples to let go of their nets, saying “Come follow me.”

Along life’s way, children of God who were called to “let go” had possessions even after their initial letting go.

Adam and Eve let go of the garden, but they possessed the clothes God made for them. Abram let go of his country, kindred, and heritage of his father’s house, but he took many possessions with him on his journey, so the scripture tells us. The Israelites let go of many things to make their wilderness sojourn, but they possessed the ark and the tabernacle.

Jesus came teaching and preaching and living a radical practice of letting go. Jesus brought a brand new practice of letting go: letting go of everything. Jesus told the rich young ruler, “Let go of every attachment you have! Then come follow me. Give me your whole life, so that God can give you a ‘whole’ life.”

My sense is that folks in our culture, myself included, would rather attempt letting go like Abraham. We might answer the call to go on a grand adventure, leaving our homes and families IF we can take a bunch of our stuff. We are a people of possessions perhaps like no other culture before us. So radical letting go is a concept that is largely lost on us.

Ah, but letting go of everything is at the heart

of Jesus’ ministry! Good Friday is letting go! Go back to the gospels and count how many of Jesus’ teachings and encounters involve, in one way or another, letting go. I think they ALL do! But don‘t take my word for it. Go have a look for yourselves.

I believe God is calling us to let go in a radical way. Radical “letting go” is to go to the root (marrow, center, heart) of myself – soul and body – and clear out space for God to dwell.

If I imagine that all of my attachments – the things that get me high (programs for escape or happiness) and those things that drag and weigh me down (despair, anxiety) – are anchored at the root of me, the call is to go to that root of myself, that root place, and cut the cords. I like to imagine that the things that lift me high are a hundred helium-fi lled balloons whose strings are anchored in my core (roots), and the things that weigh me down are a multitude of anchors whose chains are anchored in my core (roots). If I will allow it, God will go with me to my core and cut those strings and chains: a radical letting go! And fi nally I will live.

Radical Advent means preparing to be possessed by the Spirit of the Living God at the very root, the very center of ourselves. Practicing a Radical Advent means clearing a space at the center, the root of self for Christ to be born again,

Practice a Radical Advent. Your body is Bethlehem. Clear space and enjoy the second coming of self at Christmas, as Christ is born in your life!

What do you need to let go of ...?

The Rev. Hendree HarrisonST. PAUL’S CHURCH, ATHENS

Microsoft/Fotolia

DECEMBER 3

ANTICIPATION

Like boys of all times and all places, I developed an early fascination for matches – this simple wooden stick with a colored tip tempted my

friends and me into daring acts of mischief that thankfully never went beyond a burned fi nger. Advent was the one time of the year when this fascination was allowed to come out of the shadows and found itself suddenly at the center of our family life in the lighting of the advent candles proudly displayed on the dining room table. Grandma would tell us that Advent is that time when the church prepares itself for the birth of the Christ child; as children, that anticipation was most palpable when we waited for our turn to light the candles. Grandma was orthodox in her theology, but had discovered a graceful pragmatism in her daily life. To ensure we would all get our turn lighting the candle she would distract us and quickly blow out the candles, guaranteeing that all her grandkids got their turn with the coveted matchbox.

These early memories of Advent anticipation (yes,

as basic as a child’s anticipation of getting to light a candle) have been overrun by adult concerns – shopping, traveling, partying, cooking, eating, worrying. Rather than being alight with Advent anticipation, I sag into the Christmas pew, tired, exhausted, and defeated by another joyous season. I will never again be that child whose greatest Advent joy was the anticipation of getting to light a candle. But I can be an adult who chooses to live a life of faithful anticipation in Advent and throughout the year – anticipating transforming love that restores broken lives; anticipating redemption whenever we come up short; anticipating grace that goes beyond understanding.

Like a grandmother who blows out Advent candles to make sure all her grandkids have their turn, my own Advent prayers are that this season of preparation may not wear us out, but energize our own anticipation of (and impatience for) the love of God so real that it can do nothing but change lives.

Erik BroerenGRACE CHURCH, CHATTANOOGA

Photo by the Rev. David GarrettChurch of the Annunciation, Newport

As best we know, the season’s name Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means coming. But which coming does it celebrate?

The coming of God at the end of the age? The coming of Jesus in the Christ Child? Or Jesus’ daily comings to us in our day to day lives, particularly as we gather in Eucharist together. The answer is “yes.” But I want to focus on the coming, the adventus that is often most quickly skipped over in Advent – that of the great adventus of God on the Earth’s Last Day.

The lesson from the Hebrew Bible for the First Sunday of Advent is Isaiah 2:1-5:

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion

ADVENTUSDECEMBER 4 shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from

Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

It, and one like it in the prophet Micah, predict a great feast in Jerusalem on the Earth’s Last Day. It is the ground of our hope for life – that, one day, God will bring all things to a climax and resolution. History is going someplace and that place is good. It is the ultimate adventus. Paul, in the lesson from Roman’s for the same Sunday is Romans 13:11-14:

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the fl esh, to gratify its desires.

Paul clearly believes that this adventus is coming

soon. He was wrong and we still await its coming. Christian history is dotted with revivals of this hope in the near coming of Jesus on the Earth’s last day, yet to come to fruition – yet we believe that it will in fact one day come. Perhaps the most important message about this great coming, this great adventus comes from Jesus’ teaching in the day’s Gospel, Matthew 24:36-44:

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the fl ood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the fl ood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the fi eld; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had

known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

The truth is that we simply do not know when that day and hour shall arrive and we are given one and only one command regarding it: “Be watchful, be ready.”

Before you turn too quickly in Advent toward the coming of God in the Christ child in Christmas – something easy to do when we ramp up for secular Christmas from Halloween on – meditate upon the great and fi nal adventus of God on earth of which Advent reminds us in our Christmas crunch. It is our hope for a future world of justice and mercy, of the Lord’s great, eternal reign upon earth and the end of sin, death, and suffering. Advent is the season in which we meditate upon this great command to be watchful, to be ready.

The Rev. Jay MillsST. PAUL’S CHURCH, KINGSPORTWikipedia Commons

DECEMBER 5

PRAYERThe sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. — Isaiah 60:19

O Lord, we are your children, and we frequently struggle in darkness, which oppresses our spirits and threatens to overwhelm us. In

this Advent season, teach us to reach for your light, and help us to strive for it continually. In the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer we pray. Amen.

Lee PhillipsST. JOHN’S CHURCH, JOHNSON CITY

Photo by Laura Beth DavidsonSt. John’s Church, Johnson City

Build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. — Jude 20-21

DECEMBER 6

ST. NICHOLAS

On December 6, I bid you to celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas! On that date in 343 A.D., Saint Nicholas died in the city of Myra.

Located in what is known today as the country of Turkey, Myra was a place visited by Saint Paul, as recounted in the Book of Acts.

Nicholas served in Myra as bishop for many years. During his time, he surely experienced the complexity of being a Christian in a world that still paid homage to the pagan gods of old. Perhaps it was this environment that sparked in him a zeal to share his faith, a passion that sometimes got him in trouble. In fact, Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned because of his faith. Yet this time in prison did not dissuade him from proclaiming the gospel.

Nicholas is said to have attended the Council of

Nicaea, one of the early gatherings of church leaders. The divinity of Jesus was a main topic of this gathering: Was Jesus separate from God, or was Jesus created by God out of God’s being or created in the same way as Adam? One legend says that Nicholas was so angry at those who denied Jesus’ divinity that he punched one of the leaders, the infamous Arius.

Whether or not that’s true is beside the point: Ultimately, this council created the Nicene Creed, which established God as Father, God as Son, and God as Holy Spirit. This creed is still said during worship services in many churches. It makes clear the dual nature of Jesus as both human and divine – a critical and guiding principle for centuries of Christianity.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,the only Son of God,eternally begotten of the Father,God from God, Light from Light,true God from true God,begotten, not made,of one Being with the Father. – from the Nicene Creed

From “From the Holly Jolly to the Holy: Reclaiming the Sacred During Advent and Christmas”

By Jim RosenthalUSED WITH PERMISSION OF FORWARD MOVEMENT

Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. — Psalm 139:12

DECEMBER 7

READY

I wasn’t ready for Advent this year … wasn’t ready for the coldness, the inevitable

shortening of days – and the ensuing darkness. I wasn’t ready to be still, to wait or to sit in the dark.

We’ve come to associate darkness with loss, death, trouble and evil. But an offhand remark from a spiritual director I know got me thinking about that. He suggested that it’s time to recapture the richness of darkness and to refl ect on its positive aspects. That remark seemed meant for me as I struggled with this season, this Advent, which we also associate with darkness ... and light.

The people we think most about in Advent are ones who sat in darkness – and sat for a very long time. They waited in a darkness that seemed to be devoid of the presence of God. While they languished in deserts, wandering as if lost, through famines, plagues, exile, wars and the rumors of wars, as the Scriptures say, the experience of darkness threatened to overcome them. But that experience did something else. Sitting in darkness made them long for the light, the great light of the One promised by God. Surrounded by darkness, they remembered their need for the Light, they recalled their dependence on the

One who is light. Perhaps that is the richness that darkness can hold. The positive aspect of sitting in the darkness is that we just might realize again, with spectacular clarity, the amazing gift of Light of the World.

Ready or not, Advent comes. Ready or not, there are times when we live in darkness. But seen or unseen, sensed or not, the Light is with us, God is with us. Our Emmanuel comes and stays.

The Rev. Canon Pat GraceDIOCESAN HOUSE

race comes like snow –discretely.

It is a million small awakenings,moments surprising and weightless,

each a promise of symmetryamid confusion,

each a touch that stillsthen passes on.

Grace comes like snow –in storms white and silent and full.

We bear it because it is a giftbeyond our grasping

and because its generosityand its spareness

are the same:the eternal

scattered forth like breadbroken

in abundance.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The Rev. Claire KeeneCHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION, LOUDON

Photo by Don Myers

DECEMBER 8

ADVENT

When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fi ne clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ ”

“I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (And all the people who heard this, including the tax-collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.) — Luke 7:24-30

DECEMBER 9

PREPARE

John the Baptist is regarded historically as the greatest prophet of all times. He was a locust-eating, camel-hide-wearing, wilderness man

who was a cousin to Jesus. John was certainly anything but dainty, no “reed shaken by the wind.” We are told that Jesus posed these questions to the multitudes in order to emphasize that John played a signifi cant and special role

in God’s plan. John’s ministry was that of the messenger ... always pointing away from himself to the savior of the world, preaching repentance and preparing people for the coming of the messiah.

I wonder ... what is our role in God’s plan? That question does not seem easily answered. Yet, the season of Advent gives us special opportunity. It is a reminder each

year to once again focus on preparing the way for the king that was born a babe in a manger. It’s a time of gratitude, forgiveness and generosity. It is a season of intimacy. How do we prepare the way? Ironically, we often fi nd ourselves scattered and distracted by the celebration. John’s message was one of repentance and remission. “Letting go” (oh so easily said, but!) allows “space” for taking in ... embracing God’s love and peace ... receiving His presence so that our refuge is in Christ rather than earthly things. The preparation must begin with each of us, so that we can announce the coming of the messiah to the world!

As we go forth into this bright season, let us keep our eyes on the one true light, remembering the echo of hand bells and the familiar lyrics “Prepare the way of the Lord, Prepare the way of the Lord ...”

Karen LongCHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD,

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN

Photo by the Rev. David GarrettChurch of the Annunciation, Newport

Photo by the Rev. David GarrettChurch of the Annunciation, Newport

What I say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!” — Mark 13:37

DECEMBER 10

WATCH

On Christmas 1978, I unwrapped my Christmas present from my wife Virginia and found an Olympus SLR camera. I was a

bit confused, and said, “You know, I don’t know a thing about photography.” Her response was, “Well, you’ve got a son now, and it’s time to learn.”

So learn I did. And now for 34 years photography has been a big part of my life. Various cameras, fi lm and later digital, have been lugged around four continents to record whatever seemed worth recording.

And over the years it has become not just a technical skill but a spiritual discipline. When you start out in photography you take pictures of what you can easily see. But if you work at it, you begin seeing what you would never have seen – unless you were looking intently. New worlds come to light.

About a year ago, I got a macro diopter and found

myself plunged into the world of common yard insects. The number of fascinating creatures and life cycles and behaviors right there in our own front yard is absolutely astounding. It’s almost like taking a trip to an alien planet. And I had walked right past and through it all my life totally unaware of it – until I chose to look closely.

How much life is going on all around us of which we are totally unaware?

When the light and life of God breaks through into our world and our lives – are we awake enough to be aware of it?

Those who seek, fi nd.“What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ” Some

things are just too good to be missed.

The Rev. David GarrettCHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION, NEWPORT

Brother Ron Fender preached a sermon at St. Paul’s church on the fi rst Sunday of Advent a long, long time ago. The image he used that morning was

simple, but one so powerful that it has never left me. Despite subsequent years of learning more theological ways to talk about Advent, that same image always comes to my mind as we round the corner of Pentecost and make our way toward a new church year.

Brother Ron talked about being a young child fi lled with expectation sitting in a darkened theater waiting for the movie to begin. There was no noisy string of coming attractions in those days to quell the pure excitement of waiting for that center point of light signifying something new and amazing that was about to come into the darkened world. To be so fi lled with joy, hope and expectation for what is to come seems to me to be the meaning of Advent.

What a powerful image! Sitting in darkness, waiting on the Light, joyfully anticipating the goodness that is to come. In human terms we call that Hope, the feeling deep down in the

THE LIGHT THAT BRINGS HOPEDECEMBER 11

soul that trusts that something good is to come. Hope is in short supply these days, in our world, in our lives and even in our churches.

As American novelist Anne Lamott says, “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait, and watch and work. You don’t give up.”

I think you have to look closely for little glimpses of Hope these days, because other darker things seem to crowd the way and make life seem hopeless instead of hope-fi lled. But, oh, how we need some Hope in our lives.

Lately I have been blessed to fi nd hope in some unexpected places.

One of these places is the Hope Center located on the fourth Floor of Ft. Sanders Regional Medical Center which was established in 1996 to address the unmet needs of patients infected with HIV. Due to serious gaps in care for this population, the Hope Center provides supportive care programs at no charge to inpatients, outpatients, and

families affected by HIV and other serious illnesses. The Hope Center relies entirely on charitable gifts and donations for its existence. Some clients of Hope Center face the additional challenge of being rejected by friends and family and often have no one to care for them physically, emotionally, spiritually or fi nancially.

At Christmas time, the center distributes HOPE BUCKETS to many of their clients and this is the third year that Good Samaritan has participated in this project. They are fi lled with simple, inexpensive items, but you would think they contained a million dollars. The Hope Center is always a place that is fi lled with the message of Hope that genuine Love brings.

Sometimes we fi nd hope and love intertwined where people have been marginalized. I have just returned from spending two months with the good people of St. Mark’s in Port Royal, South Carolina, and I never felt more passion, commitment and hope for the Episcopal Church. They are fi lled with the passion of Christ as they struggle to proclaim the Good News in a diocese fraught with division. The newly reorganized Episcopal Church in South Carolina is a place living on faith and Hope.

As we travel our Advent journey together, may we force ourselves to sit still in our own kind of darkness and look for those magical points of light that tell us that something new and wonderful is about to happen. May we learn to recognize these messages of Hope and become part of God’s Light that can change the world. Amen.

The Rev. Taylor W. DinsmoreCHURCH OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN, KNOXVILLE Photo courtesy of Good Samaritan, Knoxville

The oaks have lost their hiding leavesand through the clutter of bare trunksand ragged limbs the occasional pondnestles like a chilled wet thief in the hills.

In this season of seeing one can hearthe mutter of wind through rough weedsand rattle-leaves, and the voice of onecrying in the wilderness.

On this leather day with my camel-coatfl apping the wind and a bold red tie fl yingin exuberance to my shoulder,I along the paved road walk, wondering:

Lord, give us in this deep season deep patience as we seek to abide in you. Still our restlessness of mind and let us settle now in quietude, that we may better prepare for that which comes.

SEEINGDECEMBER 12

If I let my hair grow tanglingand cast off this coat and stepout of these shining shoescould I become that wildgreen man in autumn barefoot,eating locusts, tasting the richlather of fermenting honey –

could I feel the hard storm coming and seemore clearly than I see now?

Art StewartCHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION, LOUDON

Photo by Vikki Myers

DECEMBER 13

ADVENT OF THE HUMAN

It is Advent. “Advent” means “coming.” In this season we are summoned to watch and wait, and work – and watch, and work, as we wait –

for the coming of that messianic deliverer who is at once a representative Son of Humanity and a representative Son of God, the noblest Child of Earth and the dearly-beloved Child of Heaven.

In this season we are summoned to anticipate, watchfully, his coming – in humility and in glory. We are admonished to watch once again, with Mary and Joseph, and with the angels, for the birth in Bethlehem of a babe who, in his own person, inaugurates a new phase of God’s Kingdom on earth even as he dons the swaddling clothes of the manger. We are admonished to watch too with Peter and James and John and Andrew, with “Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women” who discovered that death could not squelch his spirit or extinguish his life; to watch even with the Church through all the ages, for his manifestation as head of all the company

of earth – he, who, cloaked in heavenly clouds of holiness, in his cradle and by his cross and through what follows each, mysteriously sums up and evokes completion of God’s great designs for creation.

His coming spells crisis. The world – but half knowingly – awaits his birth, as a babe without title; and then fi nds itself called upon to crown him or to crucify him. The world – but half knowingly, with a mixture of loathing and longing – awaits his “return,” his full manifestation, as a “king” with a cross-won right to reign; and then fi nds itself called upon to join him in the joys of new creation or to perish with the passing of the ages of preparation. His coming spells crisis – yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This crisis is replete with pain and, especially, with promise.

Light attends his coming. A star betokens his birth; and, like lightening piercing the darkness, his transformative reign advances. In him burns bright a quality of life embodying, and enkindling, the true light of humans made in Love’s image. Pierced by this light, those who prefer the

darkness of inhumanity smolder, painfully, before him. Pierced by this light, those who prefer the brightness of Love-inspired justice and peace catch afl ame with the fi res of a heavenly – yet utterly human – fulfi llment as he walks among them, and lives within them.

As the fi g tree ripens and bears fruit, he suggested,1 so the world ripens toward the reign of that new humanity that he represents and promotes. Like servants who await their master’s return, he advised,2 the wise work as they await his coming, ever and again, as the preeminent champion of God’s new creation.

With such images – of fi g tree ripening and servants waiting – he himself calls us to anticipate his coming. “And what I say to you I say to all: Watch”.3 “Be alert”.4 “Keep awake”.5

Watch. Wait. Work. For the birth of the truly human: God’s Child.

Watch. Wait. Work. For the fl ourishing and fl owering of the truly human: God’s Kingdom.

Watch. Wait. Work. For the heaven-sponsored

advent of the fulfi llment of creation’s fi nest possibilities: God’s Dream.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! Come!

The Rev. Claude Y. StewartST. MARK’S CHURCH, COPPERHILL

Readings:1 Matthew 24:32f; Mark 13:28f; Luke 21:29f

2 Mark 13:34ff; Matthew 24:45ff3 Mark 13:374 Luke 21: 36

5 Matthew 24:42

Photo by Vikki Myers

DECEMBER 14

ON ADVENT, SEWANEE, ANDBISHOP POLK’S CHAIR

So, last week I spent four wonderful days up at the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. I was crammed into a three

bedroom house with fi ve other adults, two children, and fi ve dogs. It sounds awful, but, truly, it was awesome. They are my seminary family. The funny thing though, is that we spent the fi rst two days catching up, then the second two days sort-of saying good-bye again. My friend, Brooks, commented that it is sort-of like living through a tiny liturgical calendar. We know what’s coming, and we will probably do it year after year as we get together annually for the conference. And, while much of each year will be the same; every year will be different – we will be different.

On the last day, a few of us were chatting at a local eatery about the cemetery and how creepy Bishop Polk’s stone looked the night before in the mist. A guy at the table next to

us interrupted and said, “Did you ever look at the back of the bishop’s chair in the military chapel at All Saints? There’s a plaque on the back that says, ‘Built out of cedar for Bishop Polk by his slaves.’ ”

He then went on to say that one of the things he fi nds amazing about Sewanee is that the university doesn’t paper over its racist past. Instead, it tries to take that past and use it as a way to create a better future.

In some ways that’s what our liturgical year does. We know the story; we live through it every year. The story of hope, suffering and redemption. We look to Advent with hope, not papering over what comes after, but instead knowing that the whole cycle is part of God’s plan.

So here we are in Advent, beginning our hopeful waiting. A child will be born. We know he will grow; we know how he will die. But the knowing of all of this is the reason

that Advent is so poignant. Like my friend, Brooks, said about coming back for the conference, each year we approach Advent in the same way, but each year we approach it in a different way, because each year we are different. Our relationship with God is different than the year before, so we will see something new in the sameness. That’s good. But it can also be a daunting journey.

But for now, we begin anew, looking to the miracle of the past, taking it, and bringing it into our lives here in the present. And using it as a way to create a better future.

The Rev. Steve WhiteST. JAMES CHURCH, KNOXVILLE

Photo by Don Myers

Surely Ruth’s arms were fullby the end of her days.And Boaz, we’re told,stood not far away, at the edgeof his fi eld and was made richby the widening gates of his gaze.

Yes, in the same fi elds of Bethlehemwhere the story shepherdswatched their fl ocks of stars,Ruth had many years beforeset step along a pathto the same ordinary metaphor.

And in our humble manger,in that little town we still sing aloud,a baby was plopped down

Barley kernels lodgedin the apron pocket of Ruth.She gleaned a faminein her younger days,fair widow of another tribe.

But here in Bethlehemthe bread lay goldon the ground.Blessed were all who reached forwhat the worker’s heelhad pressed down.

Enough is all you needto make a loaf rise.Ruth took the migrationpath the sparrows knew.

in a remnant of Boaz’s grassgleaned fi rst for other lambs.

And there in his Mother’s soft apronHe must have looked no larger thana grateful widow’s loaf.

Laurie Perry VaughenTHANKFUL MEMORIAL CHURCH,

CHATTANOOGA

BETHLEHEM: THE HOUSE OF BREADDECEMBER 15

DECEMBER 16

THINGS TO COME

We live in a world of calendars and seasons, dates and deadlines. We in the western world use the Gregorian

calendar, as both our civil and Christian liturgical calendar. We have seasons: fall/autumn, winter, spring, and summer. We have holidays and holy days, no longer identical. We have a New Year each year – January 1 – and in the Christian church we have the season of Advent as the beginning of our new liturgical year. In the west, it always begins between November 27 and December 3.

Many of us have other calendars. As a student and academic for many years, I long thought of my new year as beginning in late August/early September. When I came into the church, I began to understand liturgical seasons, beginning with Advent. Advent is an incredibly special season for me, for in addition to its liturgical meaning – the preparation for the annual celebration of the birth of Christ

and for the time when Christ will come again – it prepares me for January 1 and beyond.

My years still begin anew at three different times – January 1, late August/early September, and Advent 1. Advent 1 – falling on December 1 this year – is far and away the most signifi cant of my new year days, for it is in the cycle of the church that I have learned to experience the steps of waiting and preparing for new beginnings. It is in practicing those steps, particularly during the season of Advent, that I get to experience a bit of the things to come.

Thanks be to God!

Bethany K. DumasST. JOHN’S CATHEDRAL, KNOXVILLE

DECEMBER 17

REST, HOPE, PEACE

Growing up in the Midwest, I know what short and cold

December days are – for me, it was often a time of impatience and restlessness. In college, it was a time of stress and preparation for fi nals. In the days which were often dreary and dreadful, I always found hope. December is a time when Christians await the birth of Baby Jesus, the Light of the World. Advent is a time of expectant waiting and in this we are all called to wait and to hope in the Lord.

The start of Advent is one

of the busiest times for many people; planning holiday travels, preparing for fi nal tests and papers, attending or hosting Christmas parties – all of which are important pieces of our lives – but all require a lot of time and relentless details. During this busy time of year and in all our preparations, may we remember the season of Advent, and take time to refl ect on the journey and preparations that Mary and Joseph were making as they prepared for the birth of the Savior for the world.

In the busy-ness may we pray Psalm 130 and be reminded of God’s

forgiveness and redemption. May we not only be caught in the busy-ness of Christmas preparations and fi nals but prepare for the celebration of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ, who brings God’s forgiveness to this world for all people. This Advent, may we fi nd rest, hope and peace in Christ. The words of Augustine resonate, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you. O Lord.”

Noel ReaganPROJECT CANTERBURY

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. — Psalm 130:5-7

Prayer

God, Creator of Life,

You call us out of our dark places,

You offer new life with grace and love,

You are the Hope when we feel hopeless

and your Spirit fi lls us with new life.

Help us to see that you are the Hope

and Light in our lives and this world.

DECEMBER 18

AWAKEN

The megaphone of the prophets rings vibrant and true – and yet we

go on. The locust-eater broadcasts the ancient lament for a new day – and yet we go on. An adolescent girl has an angelic vision, is inseminated by God – and we go on. We go on. On our merry way piled high with catalogues and shopping carts and mall fever, so it is little wonder that the Incarnation has become the high feast day of Target and Costco and eBay, while marketeers, from Santa on down, condition us to stuff ourselves. We go on, and on, and on. Stuffed.

Stop. Look. Listen. Desist. Breathe. Awaken to your life, awaken with more than a jolt from Starbucks; awaken to the Spirit, in the Spirit. The

gale of the approaching Word is at hand, and your deep self in silence should wait. Silence, God’s dear and truest friend, calls us to detach from “going on and on and on,” going from “strength to strength” in the life of perfect acquisitiveness, and, in so doing, to lose the unspeakable gift of Emmanuel.

It isn’t often that the Unlimited becomes limited. The Infi nite takes on fi nitude. The Nameless receives a name. Only the awake, the silent, refl ective ones, fi nd the magic – and the miracle – of the One who is coming. Let it be, let it be. Come, let us adore Him.

The Rev. King OehmigCHURCH OF THE NATIVITY,

FORT OGLETHORPE

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. — Luke 2:19

PONDERDECEMBER 19

PONDER – No other word quite conveys the depth of that word. One Bible translation states “thought about” instead of “ponder.”

That seems so much weaker. To ponder is to weigh carefully, to consider deeply and thoughtfully.

Pondering is not just done in your head but deep within you, in your heart center.

Imagine all the things that Mary pondered during her pregnancy – waiting for the Lord!

Her pondering began with the visitation from Gabriel: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Mary PONDERED what sort of greeting this was.

She’s been told that she is going to bear the Son of God!

Mary must have been aware of the predictions of the prophet Isaiah. Did she ponder whether she was part of those prophecies?

Imagine pondering on a long journey, as Mary might have, going to Bethlehem, about to give birth.

For anyone who is going to welcome a new child into your family – especially a fi rst child – you consider what that will mean for yourself and others in your family. You wonder if you are up to the task of being a parent, if the child will be healthy. Maybe Mary pondered these kinds of things too.

And then Mary is in a stable. Did she ponder how she could give birth in such a place? When the shepherds arrive and tell of their angelic vision, Mary again has reason to ponder: Why were lowly shepherds being told about this birth of Jesus? They tell that he is proclaimed as Messiah. Did Mary ponder about who else might now know?

We now know! But have we really pondered about the coming of this Light – the light of Christ?

How are you preparing for the coming of the Christ

child? Are you running around to the stores, shopping online, putting up decorations, writing Christmas cards, baking? Perhaps you have pondered about what special gift to give that special person, or what charity will receive your favor this year. But we have an opportunity each Advent to ponder deep within our heart centers what the coming of the Christ child means for each of us. As you consider all the things that Mary pondered, ask yourself:

What do I ponder in my heart in preparation for the coming of my Lord and Savior?

Linda LeBreuxST. RAPHAEL’S CHURCH,

Photo by the Rev. Ann MarkleSt. Raphael’s Church, Crossville

DECEMBER 20

ICON

A meditation I fi nd meaningful during the Advent season:

fi nd old Christmas/holiday cards and cut off the message half. The card can then be used as an “icon” on which to focus. This works well for individuals, families, or groups. It is important to have a selection of cards. I usually glue the cards to a piece of construction paper. Questions to ponder are similar to the lectio process: what stands out to me in this picture? What feeling does it elicit? How is God speaking to me through this image?

The Rev. Paige BuchholzST. JOSEPH THE CARPENTER,

SEVIERVILLECard by Vikki Myers

DECEMBER 21

PREPARE A WAY FOR THE LORD

The beginning of Mark’s Gospel quotes Isaiah as saying “A voice crying aloud in the wilderness, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord; clear

a straight path for him.’” Some scholars insist that the punctuation is

incorrect in most translations. The passage, they say, should read: “In the wilderness, prepare a way for the Lord; clear a straight path for him.”

I like that punctuation, if only because it resonates with my own life. The wilderness is where I live, both literally and fi guratively – mostly fi guratively.

No road on the way to my house in the mountains of East Tennessee is “straight.” My life certainly hasn’t been – and still isn’t, although by this time I somehow was expecting to have everything fi gured out.

This Advent hopefully I can spend time preparing the road into the wilderness that is my life. I can make the twists and turns of my relationships with others and with God less full of curves and potholes: Some apologies, some

smiles instead of glares, some overdue telephone calls of encouragement. More prayers of “thank you” rather than “please help.”

With such preparations, perhaps the path for the presence of God on this earth will become a bit straighter, at least into the depths of my life, and the light of that sacred baby will shine brighter in the wilderness.

Nancy CainST. ANDREW’S CHURCH, MARYVILLE

DECEMBER 22

LIGHT

The sun shines bright and strong through my south-east facing offi ce

windows in the morning. That’s why the windows have blinds on them. But if you come into my offi ce, you’ll notice that my blinds are never down – they’re always drawn up as far as they can go. When the sun streams into the offi ce, I could not be happier. I sit in that pool of sunshine and it is my most productive time of day. People who come in to meet with me are sometimes uncomfortable with bright light in their eyes, so I adjust the blinds for them but as soon as the meeting is over, the blinds go right back up.

Most people bow their heads when they pray, but I turn my face up to

the light, and sometimes go outside so I can stand in the sunshine while I pray.

Born and raised in the western sunbelt, my DNA is nourished by sunlight.

It should come as no surprise that I have trouble adjusting to shorter hours of daylight in the winter, especially driving home from work in the dark.

Sometimes I wake very early in the morning – too early to get up and prepare for the day ahead, and, even more than driving home in the dark, I really dislike getting up in the dark, so usually I go back to sleep until a more reasonable hour – at least until it’s a little closer to sunrise.

I woke this morning about 3:30 not at all sleepy, so, with no likelihood of going right back to sleep, I got up and walked over to a window. It was foggy but the moon was behind the clouds and the entire atmosphere glowed with a diffuse light. The dawn hadn’t arrived

yet, but the glimmer of hope was there. I just stood and drank in the scene, knowing the light was coming even if I couldn’t see it directly.

That’s how Advent is.Even when we are in darkness

so deep we cannot see the merest glimmer of hope, we know Jesus is coming and we wait by the window knowing the Light will come. When it comes, it brings not just hope but Love – Love beyond all time, beyond all reason and beyond all belief. We experience the knowing that we are indeed God’s beloved children. And we celebrate the birth of Jesus in us.

Vikki MyersDIOCESAN HOUSE

MAGNIFICATDECEMBER 23

he Word of the Lord comes to us in the darkness,

the seed of an unseen Loverwith whom we wrestle

as if half-wakened from sleep.

So the Word becomes fl esh in our bodies,at fi rst a silent, secret challenge

but swelling forth as a sign,for as we yield

we are given joy for food.

Our fl esh becomes His,and we know ourselves less and Him more,

this Word pulsing at our deepest hearts,this Light who has broached our darkness

forever.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The Rev. Claire KeeneCHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION, LOUDON

Photo by the Rev. David GarrettChurch of the Annunciation, Newport

JESUS BE BORN IN MEDECEMBER 24

An Advent prayer, that Christ may come again. Peace to all.

Not just on a night in December,far away and long, long ago,but here and now, Lord Jesus, come into this home,not just in a crèche on the mantle,not just on a cross on the wall,but in a life of love that’s obvious to all.

Chorus:Jesus be born in me, Jesus be born in me.Let me shoulder someone’s burdenand set somebody free.Jesus be born, Jesus be born in me.

Leave me not the same way you found me,take me by the hand and help me rise,teach me to see your wonders through a child’s eyes,

lead me to the foot of the manger,fi ll me with the light of the Son,give me a heart to share your life with everyone.

Repeat Chorus

Clear away the old and make me new,let me be a place your love shines through.

Repeat Chorus

John TirroTYSON HOUSE

Words and music by Lisa Aschmann and John Tirro.©2005 Nashville Geographic Music/Universal Music

Corps./Cumberland Belle Music (ASCAP). Used by permission of author.

Photo by Vikki Myers

DECEMBER 25

THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST:CHRISTMAS DAY

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. – Luke 2:19

It’s Christmas Day. Many of us won’t have time to read our devotions today, our hours fi lled instead with visits from family and friends, with

opening presents and sharing hearty meals.But I hope that today we will remember too those

for whom Christmas is not a day of celebration, but one that echoes loudly with loneliness or despair. Perhaps it’s a widow who mourns her husband’s death. Perhaps there’s a neighbor whose children live far away. There might be the estranged daughter or a new divorcee. For those and others, the great expectations of this day fall fl at.

Back in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph didn’t have their family and friends around either for the joyous occasion

of the birth of a child. They had the shepherds, not exactly the people who would top an invitation list. Yet their presence helped Mary and Joseph feel secure. The angels joined in too: “Fear not.”

If you feel alone, remember the Holy Family. Mary felt isolated and fearful today, too. Share with her your needs as she gives you her son to be your friend and brother, Savior and Lord.

Our task today is to tell others that this birth matters – it matters a lot. Alone or not, consider bringing a neighbor or someone from church into your celebration. What better way to honor Christ the child than by opening our doors as well as our hearts?

Photo by Bethany Dumas and Melissa DodsonSt. John’s Cathedral

As you chose the lowly, the outcasts, and the poorto receive the greatest newsthe world had ever known,

so may we worship you in meekness of heart.May we also remember our brothers and sisters

less fortunate than ourselvesin this season of giving.

Amen.– Karen L. Oberst

From “From the Holly Jolly to the Holy: Reclaiming the Sacred During Advent and Christmas”

By Jim RosenthalUSED WITH PERMISSION FROM FORWARD MOVEMENT

O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may

also enjoy him perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

L O V E G O D + L O V E Y O U R N E I G H B O R + C H A N G E T H E W O R L D

Episcopal Church in East Tennessee814 Episcopal School Way, Knoxville TN 37932

865.966.2110 | DioET.org