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Advent 2013M E D I T A T I O N S F O R T H E S E A S O N

Advent: A Season of Expectant Waiting

Advent begins the Church year and is a season of expectation and anticipation. During Advent we are invited to embrace the mystery of waiting and to step deeply into the drama of the Incarnation. It is through the mystery of the Incarna-tion — where “heaven is joined to earth and earth to heaven” — that matter is made equal in value to the spirit. In other words, humanity becomes divinized as God expresses God’s self through that which is thoroughly human. Through the Incarnation creation is restored to its rightful place as the container of the divine in the world.

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer restores the theme of expectation to the season of Advent and brings greater focus to the role of Mary, Mother of Jesus, in the Incarnation event. Throughout this season we are invited to walk with Mary and all the ancient ones who prepared the way. The season of Advent is an oppor-tunity to do nothing less than prepare the womb-space of our hearts for the birth of the Child of Light, the Anointed One, the Christ, coming into the world. It is into this great mystery we are invited to live our lives by participating in the advent of the fullness of time.

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W O R S H I P S C H E D U L E

Trinity Cathedral Welcomes You

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Trinity Cathedral Invites You to Worship with Us

SundaysEarly Eucharist, 8 AM

Mostly Jazz Mass, 9 AM

Choral Eucharist, 11:15 AM

Evening Service, 5 PM

WednesdaysChoral Evensong, 6 PM (October — May)

Annual Messiah SingWednesday, December 18, 2013, 12:10 PM

Christmas Eve Services Family Eucharist and Pageant, 5 PM

Christmas Prelude Britten: A Ceremony of Carols (choir and harp), 10:30 PM

Choral Eucharist, 11 PM

Christmas DayHoly Eucharist with Carols, 10 AM

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W E E K O F O N E A D V E N T

First Week of Advent

A Blessing Prayer for the Advent Wreath

O God, Source of All Energy and Light,our ancestors perceived the sun to be the source of life,a great glowing wheel rolling across the sky.May our Advent wreath, a wheel of green and light,be a sign of life and of lightin the midst of the darkness of winter.May the candles that burn brightly upon itremind us of your son, Jesus,who is the light of the world.

Grant us God, that this our Advent wreathmay be for us and for all who visit our homea sign of faith in a world engulfed in fear,a symbol of hope in a time of cynicism and a flaming image of Lovein a winter of mistrust and hate.

May all who look upon this symbol of Adventbe encouraged to prepare their heartsfor the Light that is coming into the world, Jesus the Christ.May this green wreath with its bright candleshelp us to prepare for the Christmaswhich can be experienced only within our hearts.

May the blessing of God – the Source of Light, Life and Love –be upon this Advent wreath and upon our home. Amen.

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A Liturgy for Lighting the Advent Wreath

“The glory of God shall be revealed, and all creation shall see it together.” ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Isaiah 40:5

Leader! The world belongs to God.Family!! The Earth and all creation.Leader! How good it is, how wonderful,Family!! To live together in Love.Leader! This is the Day that God has made.Family!! Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

A family member lights one candle. As the Advent candle is lit, the family prays:

O God, May the light from this wreath be a reminder for us to slow our fast paced lives and to take the time to make our hearts and minds ready to welcome the coming of your son, our Emmanuel. We ask for your love and peace to be with us all as we prepare our-selves to receive the light of your Love. May we remain ever mindful that we too are lights that go into the world. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Leader! Let us hear God’s Word for us.

A family member reads the lesson(s) appointed for the day. You may choose to read the reflection for the day as well.

Leader! The peace of Christ be with you.Family!! And also with you.Leader! Let us pray.

Come, O come Emmanuel, you are the way, the truth and the life; your are the true vine and the bread of life. Come, living Saviour, come to your world which waits for you. Amen.

Leader! May God, the Source of Life, prepare our hearts to receive the Life that is the Light of all people so that we too may become the light of the world. Amen.

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Suggested Family Practices During the First Week of Advent

• Make an Advent Wreath together to be used throughout the season.

• Download the song, “While I’m Waiting” by Josh Waller, from his album While I’m Waiting. Play the song, listening especially to the refrain. What does Josh say he will do while he is waiting? For what is he waiting? What are the things that we can do while we wait? Of those things that we can do while we wait, what is one thing we can do this week?

• Make an Advent Chain. To make a more colorful chain, print the document on col-ored paper. Children can cut the strips and then glue the ends of each strip together to make links in the chain. Make sure to place your strips in the correct date order! After the chain has been made, your children can open the ling for the corresponding day to find directions for something they can do each day of Advent. See: http://catholicmom.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/PrintableAdventChainPage1.pdf

• Be the presence of God in someone else’s life. Donate a blanket or clothing to a local homeless shelter, a battered women’s shelter, or the Ronald McDonald House (or some similar organization).

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http://catholicmom.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/PrintableAdventChainPage1.pdf




A D V E N T M E D I T A T I O N S 2 013

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Psalm 122Matthew 24:36-44

Whenever I hear someone on the news bemoan the over-commercialization of Christ-mas, that we’ve somehow forgotten the “true” meaning of the season, I shake my head and smile." Christmas, I want to remind these well-intentioned souls, has always been a time to embrace both the sacred and the secular." It’s not either/or; it’s both/and." This embrace of both achieves clarity for me each Christmas Eve, when after returning home from church service and family dinner, my daughter and I put the baby Jesus in the nativity scene." We then proceed outside to spread reindeer food on our front lawn, so that Santa’s team can have a quick snack while Santa fills our stockings." Church service and family dinner; the na-tivity scene and Santa’s reindeer." The sacred and the secular; the divine and the human.

The readings from Psalm 122 and Matthew 24 provide another opportunity to reflect on the importance of this tension between the sacred and the secular." In Psalm 122, the speaker sings of the joys upon entering the gates of Jerusalem, invoking images of peace and prosperity, images that most of us invoke during the Christmas season." In Matthew 24, however, these images of celebration come with Jesus’ reminders to his listeners that “you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”" In other words, Jesus reminds us that God can come at any time, at any place to take us home." “So you must be ready,” Jesus warns, “because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect him.”" The tone and re-minders in both readings serve as an analogue to the tension between the sacred and the secular during the Advent season." As we prepare for the coming of Christ this Advent, it’s worth reflecting on how both texts suggest that celebrating the worldly pleasures of the sea-son are not exclusive from celebrating the divine gifts promised by Jesus Christ. "

So, yes, we should all feast with our family and friends, give gifts, and even leave reindeer food on the front lawn for Santa’s coursers — and do all of this while embracing and prepar-ing for God’s greater gifts of life everlasting, the" promise of Jesus Christ.Tom Pace

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Monday, December 2, 2013


Certain impressions stand out as I read today’s readings: Cleansing, Sin, Faith, and Hu-mility.

I often wish I had the faith and humility of the Centurion. Personally, belief is a struggle between two parts of me: the skeptical scientist who stridently reminds me to “Question eve-rything,” and the accepting artist who nudges me softly with “there’s something to this—lis-ten.” Luther and Erasmus argued back and forth about whether it’s faith (by the Grace of God) or works (good deeds) that earn us a place in Heaven. For me, faith takes work! To be-lieve takes daily effort.

I am consoled during my times of doubt by Mother Theresa’s gut wrenching experience of her own “dark night of the soul,” as well as by Robert Ingersoll’s purported death bed prayer: “God, if there is a God, save my soul, if I have a soul.”" Somehow, if these persons can have their doubts, so can I.

In spite of my doubts, I daily (and hopefully) humbly ask for cleansing and forgiveness of sins. I recall as an undergraduate, a religion professor telling us that the word, “sin,” is de-rived from the Greek for “missing the mark of love.” "To attempt to carry out with love all interactions with all persons, creatures, and the environment is a daunting task. The asking part is easy; it’s the carrying it out that takes daily work.

When push comes to shove, I remind myself how fortunate I am to belong to a faith tra-dition that not only recognizes, but formalizes resolutions to my existential struggles: the sac-raments. The words I only heard when studying for my confirmation so many decades ago now have meaning — “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.”" In particular, during the Eucharist, I feel a connection with all those persons who, for two thou-sand years, have been invited “just as they are” to the table, myself included.Christopher M. Faiver

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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Psalm 57Luke 10:21-24

Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

Help me to see, God.

Help me to see the beauty of a winter-bare tree.

Help me to see the tears of a hungry child.

Help me to see the joyful face of a new parent.

Help me to see the despair of a man on death row.

Help me to see the potential in a troubled teen.

Help me to see your vision of a new heaven and a new earth.

Help me to hear, God.

Help me to hear the silence of a snowy night.

Help me to hear the sighs of a homeless man.

Help me to hear the music of a child’s laughter.

Help me to hear the lament of the widow and the orphan.

Help me to hear prophetic voices.

Help me to hear your words of comfort and challenge.

Charlotte Nichols

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Wednesday, December 4, 2013


The mergansers on their southward migration stopped to rest about a hundred yards offshore." For an hour they called back and forth to one another as they dove for fish, chased off the gulls who tried to steal their catch, preened themselves and napped." Then in a little while their songs began to change -- a slightly different pitch, a longer note – and they stopped diving and one by one each turned southwest until six hundred birds were paddling in the same direction and their song waxed insistent and deafening until there was no room for any other sound in the whole wide world. "At last one took off from the back, calling as it flew over the crowd, and then another and a few more and finally it looked as if the whole great raft were being peeled off the water." Twelve hundred wings beating, six hundred voices calling so glorious, so awesome, so beautiful that every other creature watched in speechless admiration." And suddenly they were gone, leaving behind a silence as complete and entire as their calling just moments before, and nothing moved while the lake settled back into its inscrutable self." For God alone my soul in silence waits.Emily Ingalls

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Thursday, December 5, 2013


Real Advent

We try to slow down.We try to be more conscious.We try ! ! to try harder.

For it is the season of Advent.It is a season before.It is a season of baited breath fora birth and a life.

It is the birth of words and ideasIt is the birth of justice and dignityIt is the birth of contemplation and actionIt is the birth of our humanity.

It is a life that created home,Made a place of rest in the dessert and the city,Challenged the injustice all around, And it is one calling us to come and listen.

It is a life that chose headstrong PeterTo be a rock strong foundation of life together.

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And so it is with usEach day, advent or not,We must build our hope to all ends of the earthOn the rocks that will gather us.

When the child is finally bornTo walk the road to the cross.To become the burning bright Morning star, a home in this earth and the other.

Will we remember to build our homeIn the reality of rocks. Homes not excused from realityBut taking each drop of sorrow and joy

A whisper from God :I am a refuge and a stronghold meant to set you free.

Alex Barton

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Friday, December 6, 2013


Reading the passage from Matthew today reminds me that Matthew likes to tell stories about pairs of persons or creatures: Where Mark has Jesus free one demoniac from a legion of demons, Matthew has Jesus contend with two demoniacs. "Where Mark has Jesus heal one blind man, Matthew has him give sight to two blind men. "Where Mark has Jesus ride into Jerusalem on one donkey, Matthew has him ride in on two donkeys (you could look it up!). "Why does Matthew repeatedly do this in his gospel?

With regard to the doubled exorcisms and healings in Matthew, biblical scholars like to talk about Matthew's tendency to "heighten the miraculous" in his telling of stories he has borrowed from Mark. "Matthew often gives us two miracles for the price of one, more bang for the miracle buck, so to speak. "But seen from another angle, the so-called "miraculous" nature of Jesus' healings may not be so heightened after all. "There is a way in which many of the so-called miracles of Jesus operate, surprisingly, at the ordinary, everyday level of hu-man experience.

Repeatedly in Matthew, as before in Mark's Gospel, the miracles of Jesus seem to hinge, not so much on the wonder working power of Jesus, but more on the faith or lack of faith of the person being freed from a demon or healed of some other malady. In our passage for to-day, Jesus says to the two blind men, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." "Else-where in Matthew he says to someone else being healed, "Your faith has made you well."

So, the success or failure of the miracles in our lives may depend on us? Am I ready to accept that degree of responsibility for my own life? " Bob Fowler

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Saturday, December 7, 2013


Both selections I used for my reflection came from the New Revised Standard Version of the Oxford Annotated Bible." Psalm 75, although a song of Thanksgiving, (possibly for suc-cess in a battle) is also one describing the God who “executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another,” and forcing the wicked to drink the dregs of the wine that everyone else has enjoyed in its foaming goodness. "The reading from Matthew (9:35-38) is full of the compassion of Jesus for the people to whom he has come to proclaim the Good News and to cure — crowds depicted as being “harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shep-herd.” "He says to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”" Before this, he is perform-ing miracles, bringing a young girl back from the dead, restoring sight to two blind men, and casting out a demon in a man who couldn't speak. "Immediately following this passage, he instructs his disciples NOT to go among the Gentiles or Samaritans but only to the lost sheep of Israel as they perform similar miracles." He orders that they are to take nothing with them and are to receive no reward of silver for the efforts. However, they may receive that which is offered, “for laborers deserve their food.” "If the disciples are not welcomed or listened to, he instructs them “to shake the dust from your feet as you leave that house.”

I was hoping for readings with a clearly loving Advent message, but the two here must be approached more obliquely and thoughtfully." And that becomes the reflection for me." These are imperfect images of God and Jesus, full of wonder but hinting at exclusion and prejudice." The wonder is in the mighty acts of God who keeps the tottering pillars of Earth steady, and the miraculous efforts of Jesus to bring us to the Kingdom of God." These are hope-full words in a broken world." But what about the wicked and the oblivious ones?" The Samaritans and the Gentiles?" They are still with us, and we with them.Beth Billings

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W E E K O F T W O A D V E N T

Second Week of Advent


“The glory of God shall be revealed, and all creation shall see it together.” ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Isaiah 40:5







Living God, you called your people out of Egypt and gave them the covenant; prepare our hearts to hear your call, so that we may receive with joy the gospel of your Son and be your faithful people, now and forever. Amen.

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Suggested Family Practices During the Second Week of Advent

• Start a new tradition in your home this Advent season. Each family member suggests one thing they would like to do together (if at all possible, find things that do not involve spending money — simple is best!). The suggestions are writ-ten down and put in a cup. Everyone agrees to do one of the items in the cup to-gether each week throughout the Advent and Christmas season.

• Read the story of Barrington Bunny together (for parents of very young chil-dren, please preview this story before reading it to your children). You can pur-chase the small book in which the story is written, entitled The Way of the Wolf: The Gospel in New Images by Martin Bell (1983) or find it online (http://santasearch.org/print_text.asp?RID=1170). Discuss individuals you know who are alone or lonely this season. Make or purchase a small gift and de-liver the gift anonymously to that individual/home. After you have delivered the gift, talk about how your action may have helped you and the individual experi-ence the Kingdom of God today.

• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU&feature=aso The video shows a recording of a surprise visit by the Philadelphia Opera and several other choral groups to the Macy’s in Philadelphia. The singers came into the store as shoppers and then burst into song—to the surprise of the unsuspect-ing Macy’s shoppers—when the organist began playing Handel’s Messiah. Af-ter you watch the clip, talk about the feelings you experience when you hear this song. Discuss your reaction to seeing this beautiful choral piece that describes Christ being sung in a Macy’s Department store. Did it seem odd to mix shop-ping with this chorus? If it did, why? How could this event be compared to ex-periencing the Kingdom of God in the world today?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU&feature=aso

http://santasearch.org/print_text.asp?RID=1170

http://santasearch.org/print_text.asp?RID=1170

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU&feature=aso



Psalm 72:1-7Matthew 3:1-12

When I was younger and more radical and I learned about the systemic injustices in the world, I sometimes thought that things had to get worse before they could get better. I thought that if even more people suffered from the excesses of capitalism then surely they would have to awaken and throw off the yoke of oppression."(Yes, that's the language I used in my thoughts back then.)"If not, we would be doomed to a downward spiral of into hopeless tyranny. The key was informing the masses."

But the revolution never came."

Sure, sometimes there were small corrections, like stock market crashes or the occasional hopeful election season, but the system seems to barely slow down. And yet, the dark spiral didn't come either. While some things did (and do) get worse, other things got (and still get) bet-ter. Here and there, people raised with material privilege decide to live for human values. While some hearts continue to be taught to close, some of those hearts later open. In the midst of fear: hope."

I think that I used to think we had to outsmart the enemy. What was important was articulat-ing and transmitting The Truth About the System. It was about the brain. But the faith and hope and charity that stop the spiral come not from our heads but from our hearts."

I also used to think that I could outsmart my life. But when it brought me to my knees, and I kept trying to think faster and harder, I lost. That's when I found my heart. It still often gets bur-ied, but I know it's there, and I can find it more easily all the time."

So when I read about John the Baptist warning the Pharisees about the chaff being burned by unquenchable fire, I remember that, although he may have been right about the Pharisees, the fire didn't come. What came was Jesus, and a message of love and forgiveness. After despair, hope; after Benedict, Francis; after death, life."

When Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, we don't often focus on the fact that from any given point on that arc, it's hard to discern the curve. You can't calculate its direction from where we stand. You can only follow Jesus. And you can only do that with your heart."

Brant Lee

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Diagnosis: The art of identifying a dis-ease from signs and symptoms. From the Greek: To distinguish, To know.Diagnosis: Stage 4Last daysLast ritesLasting rightsMy Mary comes gift wrappedDelivered by my MarthaOpen Now: Still Time

Prognosis: The prospect of recovery. Foreknowledge, forecast, bellwether ? From the Greek: To know. Before.Prognosis: 6 months. Question mark. Plus or minus percentage. Not much to do. Order(ed) comfort.Right dignity.Write it. Right it in your heart.Rights of passage.Last ordination: Birth to Eternal Life.Jesus comes in the Light.Your room is ready.Open now: Still Time.

Karla Rivers

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Psalm 80Matthew18:10-14

In this lament, the psalmist cries: “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock…Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” (Psalm 80:1-3)

And in Matthew’s parable of the lost sheep, we are reminded that God not only seeks us out but that we too must take care of “these little ones.”

Advent is a special time of reflective expectancy for me, as it is a time when I hear our Shepherding God calling me once again to become ever more intentional in living a life of service as a member of God’s flock. How do I use this time of wondrous expectancy of God’s Incarnation to be responsive to God’s generous invitation? I ask myself how to listen for God’s call, recognize it when it comes, and then act on it. At Advent, this call comes in many forms. My checkbook calls me to commit to writing out and sending checks to many of those charitable solicitations that have been sitting on my desk for the last few months. Let your face shine, that we may be saved. Lighting the candles on the Advent wreath which graces our dining room table prompts me to ask, how do I manifest God’s radiance in my life? Advent is a time of making space in our lives for God in human form to come into our lives. It is to slow down and truly see, hear and respond with human warmth to the peo-ple I meet throughout the day. Making space for the other in both conversation and traffic is not one of my great virtues, and thus requires intentional practice. So does my prayer life. What can I give God this Christmas? Perhaps I’ll have an answer by the end of these four weeks. But at least I know the questions. Jane Freeman

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Psalm 82Matthew 11: 25-30

Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Jesus invites us to stop, to retreat from the frenetic, the chaotic, and to experience the quiet and unseen.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

Jesus invites us to join him in the creative process, to do as he does in the real world.

As an interpreter on a living history farm, I explained to the visitor the daily life of the Western Reserve in 1848. To the twentieth century guest, the yoke was seen as a painful burden on the animals that bore it. Not, however, through my lens. I pointed out that the yoke framed the task, balanced the stress, and joined two to lessen the load for each. Too much for one, was tolerable for two; a co-creative partnership.

. . . for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus is the model, the dominant partner. He offers a new point of view; a shared life. If we cooperate, together we reach the goal.

The aim for me, the farmer, is the conversion of an otherwise hardened plain into a rich open field, a field where the good seed flourishes into nourishing bounty.

For my yoke is easy and my burden light.

Advent speaks to the promise of hope and hope of the promise that once lay in the fal-low field. The invitation is personal; the message sure.Wayne Bifano

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Psalm 84 Matthew 11:11-15

Nothing was coming to mind to share, even after a couple of weeks of reading and re-reading the assigned passages above, so I went to the commentaries and found some wonderful phrases that expressed feelings I had while re-reading the verses –“pilgrimage,” “peaceful sad-ness,” and “delicate sensitivity.”

As I was mulling these feelings over, I remembered I had a wonderful hymn saved because of its newness and message. Surprise, it embraces all feelings I have for Advent.

! **Sing a different song now Christmas is here, sing a song of people knowing God’s near: The Messiah is born in the face of our scorn, sing a different song to welcome and warn.

! Shout a different shout now Christmas is here, shout a shout of joy and genuine !cheer: Fill the earth and the sky with the news from on high, shout a different shout that all may come by.

! Love a different love now Christmas is here, love without condition, love without fear: With the humble and poor, with the shy and unsure, love a different love. Let Christ be the cure!

! Dance a different dance now Christmas is here, dance a dance of war on suffering and fear: Peace and justice are one, in the light of the sun. Dance a different dance, God’s reign has begun!

Advent is here preparing us for the birth of Christ. The living Christ is coming with a new song, a new shout, a new love, and new dance for us and the world. Amen!

“My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” (Psalm 84:2)Debbie Hunter

**Hymn from UCC, page 150 “Sing a Different Song,” Iona Community, 1987 alt

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“God is frightful, God is great — you pick. I choose this: God is in the details, the com-pletely unnecessary miracles sometimes tossed up as stars to guide us. They are the promise of good fortune in a cloudless day, and the animals in the clouds; look hard enough, and you’ll see them. Don’t ask if they’re real.”

~ Barbara Kingsolver in Small Wonder

By no means do I consider myself a photographer. I’m reluctant even to refer to myself as an “amateur” photographer. I do, however like to play with my camera. I find this sort of “play” to be relaxing and even a form of spiritual expression because it forces me to focus on the “one” thing that commands my attention at a given moment – a color, a texture, a shape, an object.

I took the photograph above while visiting the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida. I was touring a mangrove forest and spotted several shells lying in the marsh beds. I zoomed in on a shell that caught my attention, focused, clicked, and then moved on. When I returned home, I sorted through the mountains of digital photos I had taken and began editing them. When I came upon this photo, I looked for the photo I thought I had taken - a close-up of a white seashell nestled in a soft bed of brown marsh. What I saw instead was this same seashell surrounded by breath-taking beauty. The soft loamy brown marsh bed was there, but so were a rich array of colors, textures, and shapes seemingly aglow under sparkles and swirls of sunlight dancing on the water. This was not the picture I had taken. This was the picture God wanted me to see. The beauty I sought was certainly in the “treasure” that caught my eye – the seashell – but it was also in the sub-aquatic world that enveloped that sought-after treasure. The beauty was in the details, and it was not until I took the time to step back and look at the larger picture that I was able to see the abundance of beauty - beauty that initially passed through my perceptive filters be-cause of my predetermined notions of what that beauty ought to look like.

As we await the coming of Jesus into the world that God so lovingly created, we are re-minded that above all else, God is with us. During Advent, we anticipate with eager expecta-tion the coming of the indwelling of God in the world through human form and experi-ence. Yet our incarnational theology reminds us that God is always present to us in and through the world – always, everywhere, God is in the details. My daily prayer this Advent season is to put away my blinders and my preconceptions about where and when and how God resides in the world, and instead remain open to experiencing God’s presence in the de-tails of my daily existence.Linda Martin

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…. They did not recognize him…

Layer by layer, strip me bare

to the core of my existence

for there You dwell.

Beneath my hopes, my fears,

my joys, my sadness

You are there.

Just let go, let go

for You are there.

Within the blessed light of emptiness

You are there.

And let me in this blissful state

of communion dwell,

until I can emerge

more You than me.

For it will be then that I

can recognize Your loving presence

in this world.

Becky Lisy

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W E E K O F T H R E E A D V E N T

Third Week of AdventA Liturgy for Lighting the Advent Wreath

“Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me, Let them lead me to your holy hill, to the home of integrity.”! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Psalm 43:3; Psalms for Praying!







Praise and honor to you living God for John the Baptist, and for all those voices crying in the wilderness who prepare your way. May we listen when a prophet speaks your word, and follow. Amen.

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Suggested Family Practices During the Third Week of Advent

• Did the members of your household set up a cup full of things to do together last week? If you did, draw an item from the cup at the beginning of this week and schedule the time to carry it out.

• Gift cards have become one of the most common presents people give. They are very con-venient and reduce the time and effort people put into buying presents for others. In a way, gift cards take away the spirit of gift giving, the purpose of which is to demonstrate to the person receiving the gift that we care about and appreciate that person, and that we know that person. Ask yourself, “why do I give gifts?” Then, think of a person you intend to purchase a gift card for this year. Instead of a gift card, take some time to think about why you are giving that person a gift and then purchase a gift that reflects why you care about that person.

• Listen to the song, “Breath of Heaven, (Mary’s Song)” by Amy Grant. It can be found on the WOW Christmas album (red album) or as a single download through online stores such as www.amazon.com. Do any of the lyrics relate to experiences you have had in your life? Do you know of anyone who may be feeling the fear, insecurity, or separateness/loneliness that is described in this song? Is there anything you can do to support that person?

• Watch the movie, Kung Fu Panda together. There are several great discussion topics from this movie that can lead back to discussions about one’s values and faith:

• Arrogance and humility • Believing in oneself even if no one else seems to believe in you• The importance of supporting others• Recognizing one’s gifts• What one believes to be weaknesses or liabilities may actually be strengths

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http://www.amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com



Psalm 146:3Matthew 11:2-11

How strange is this feeling that permeates my being as I attempt to describe to you the emotional impact of the words of Psalm 140:3-9:

3 Do not put your trust in princes, in any child of Adam, who has no power to save. 4 When his spirit goes forth he returns to the earth, on that very day all his plans come to nothing. 5 How blessed is he who has Jacob's God to help him, his hope is in Yahweh his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. He keeps faith for-ever, 7 gives justice to the oppressed, gives food to the hungry; Yahweh sets prisoners free. 8 Yahweh gives sight to the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down. 9 Yahweh protects the stranger, he sustains the orphan and the widow.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (New Jerusalem Bible)

I very recently obtained employment. The work in which I am engaged grants me such a degree of personal fulfillment that I can scarcely describe my sense of gratitude for this op-portunity to work with others. The psalmist’s declaration of the works of God serves as a re-minder of how I have been afforded an opportunity to actively participate, in a small way, in the advent of the Kingdom of God:

"I see food given to the hungry;and see former prisoners,once incarcerated,freed from the mental shackles of their prior confinements,and able to break away from that former state of oppressionthat their incarcerations imposed upon them,and which they were forced to live through,and that perhaps has temporarily blinded them to their own humanity!

And to be the guide that lights the path of hope for those in search of salvation,and to see those in that search, find that hope;hope in the once-buried and hidden essenceof their being the very Children of God that we all are;

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And to see those once formerly-nameless and faceless onescome to realize a new reason to hope,and have them believe in their own tomorrows yet to comewith a newly-resurrected reason to have hope;

And to see once-bowed heads, being held up held up high,and those once-averted eyes, able to look straight back, straight back into my eyes;

And to have those who once had been strangerssay to me: "Thank you; for what you did; for me!"

All that I do, I do now, for God!

All of who I am is a big part of the faith I have learned to have,and believe in,and be ever so thankful for,in the House of my Lord,in my House of Worship: Trinity Cathedral!

I give pause in reflection of these things,I give thanks to God;for all that God has done for me!I pray for those yet to see,what having God in their life,will enable them to become!

Bill Mastin

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! I see both sides to this question of authority. The priests felt threatened by Jesus and be-lieved they had a right to question him. And they were the authorities of their temple, the “anointed ones.” Would not our ordained clergy question a young upstart who entered our sacred nave preaching a new and revolutionary doctrine? But the temple priests in Jesus’ time lacked the compassion and tolerance to listen and not judge.

We need to question, indeed have a right to question, at least in this country. Yet when confounded by the answer persecution is not the right response. Considered debate, good will, and patience serve us better.

Oh that our government leaders would heed this call, instead of the endless and tire-some debate, slander and even persecution.

Jesus as prophet carried a message of peace, of reconciliation, of caring and support for the impoverished, the outcasts, the disenfranchised, the illiterate.

I would bet that if a challenger like Jesus showed up at Trinity we would hear him out, have peaceful and considered debate. And I would hope that we would recognize his divine authority. Prophets, like Jesus, have a hard road to travel. We never know when a powerful stranger will show up in our midst. I hope we would be accepting of her.Gail Smith

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"

The psalm:" majesty; eternity; thundering, mighty waters.

The gospel:" willfulness; metanoia; temporal, rigid power.

We mortal creatures are swept once again into the mysteries of Advent:" haunting words of prophecy; light and life blooming from dead dry darkness; lions and lambs sleeping peace-fully; stars falling, nations raging, and woe to those who do not watch." It is an unsettling wind of metaphysical impressions and feelings that swirl in the heart, hope and dread and bewilderment, majesty and loss and ecstasy—everything that lies between Alpha and Omega.

The apocalyptic voices of Advent cry out with unmistakable meaning, calling us out of our accustomed distraction into unaccustomed awe." In the desert wilderness of that swirl-ing human heart, the choice of all the ages must be made again and again:" turn from dark toward light, move from things seen toward those unseen." Leave the sterile, suffocating cell of the willful, the hard hearted, the mesmerizing powers that be." It has no windows; no light can come in, and certainly there is none that can get out." We are bidden to go, to travel with Matthew’s tax collectors and prostitutes and walk through the infinite new door opened by John into Christ." Christ, the bread of life." Christ, the living waters." The Christ who was, and is, and is to come.

Advent, adventus, coming . . . we anticipate, wait, expect, yearn, for Christ the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end:" the one in whom we live and move and have our being." “Surely I come quickly. "Amen. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Lisle Merriman

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Psalm 95Luke 7:18-23c

During Advent each year, if you’re like me, we start thinking about the upcoming holidays." Hopefully, the “advent” of Thanksgiving and Christmas brings us feelings of warmth, happiness, and hope." Often, however, many of us experience anxiety; anxiety about family dynamics, money, exhaustion, shopping.

If we could just stop and sit and listen to ourselves, perhaps one of the themes we might recognize this time of year is doubt." Will we have enough?" Will I get it all done?" Will cousin so-and-so start that 40-year old argument again?"

In Psalm 95, the psalmist sings, “O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!”" We are happy!" We are certain!" We know who the Lord is!" Yay, us!

In Luke 7:18-23, we meet the disciples of John the Baptist." John is currently in prison so he sends his followers to find out what Jesus is doing." They are to ask Jesus, “Are you the one?”" This from the same man who had shouted on the banks of the Jordan, “This is the Lamb of God! … I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God!”" Now he seems not so sure and wants reassurance from Jesus himself.

John’s disciples find Jesus performing miracles." He tells them to go to John and tell him what they have seen and heard there." The blind can see, the lame can walk, and the dead have been raised. Interestingly, he never answers their question directly, leaving them to work through their doubt.

Jesus’ final, gentle admonishment to John (through his disciples) is, “And blessed is any-one who takes no offense at me.”" He is in essence saying to them, “Blessed are they who are not offended by what I’m doing here and blessed are they who do not doubt me.”

I pray that all of us can find time to sit quietly this Advent season, listen to the Lord’s voice, see and hear his miracles in our daily lives and in our world, and believe.Gina Turella

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What did you go into the wilderness to see?

Peace is coming soon, I can hear it,It’s a crackling fire off in the distance.Under the bright desert stars.A joyful flame — the friend of sinners and drunkardsWill have a campfire to share.

What did you go into the wilderness to see?A messenger, wild-eyed and smelling" " "of honey and dust,Who prepared the way of peace before us,Obsessed and driven by everlasting loveOffers us a place to wedge in, expand.

What a wonderful gift is given!Sing your praises, ring the bells,Give thanks to His Holy Name.A promise is kept, a vow unbrokenThe mountains are still standing strong.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;let the sea roar, and all that fills it;let the field exult, and everything in it.Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord;for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth.

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When is the right time to accept the joyThat is offered with an open hand and smile?The dry cactus, when the clouds open up, knowsThe time to start blooming is now."

So, enlarge the place where your heart" " "makes its home.Do not hold back, lengthen your cords,Strengthen your stakes andYour stake in this communityFor all our sakes.We’re in this together, everything is forgiven —Come home, come home, come home.

Dani Smith

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Psalm 98John 5: 30-36

! On a recent Saturday, Trinity types Jean and Paul Ingalls, Sally and Ted Brown and Su-san and Al LaPine coincidentally met at the sold out local multi screen theater for the HD production of Tosca. That is the opera that ends with Tosca’s fist pounding rant, “Scarpia, you and I will meet before God in judgement.” She has just stabbed him. Sorry. He deserved killing."

! She calls for the age old judgement of all at the end of time.

"! In the very next theater, a thin wall separating us, was an equal sized audience who had come to see the movie Twelve Years A Slave. It is equally unbearably cruel (The New Yorker).

! It calls for immediate judgement on the world’s inequity.

! Psalm 98 reads, “He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with right-eousness and the peoples with equity.”" New Oxford adds “not judgement at the end of time but in the biblical sense of ruling justly now.” In John’s Gospel Jesus says “the very works that I am doing testify the Father has sent me.” "

! Have it either way, or both:

! ! “Lo He comes with clouds descending, /once for our salvation slain” (Hymnal 57)

! or

! ! “His rule is peace and freedom, /and justice, truth, and love.” (Hymnal 65)

It’s worth singing about. Make a joyful Noise this Advent."

Paul Ingalls

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My first thought after reading my Gospel lesson was that it was going to be impossible to write something meaningful about a genealogy listing that is 85% male." How could this pos-sibly relate to a woman living in 2013, especially one who admittedly doesn't have a deep knowledge of her own genealogy past both sets of grandparents?"

But maybe that's the point." Maybe the most important lesson that I should take from this listing of names, most of whom I won't remember and many of which I can't pro-nounce without the help of my online biblical pronunciation guide, is that we are all con-nected and we are all part of a complex, diverse family." Our life paths have, in part, been shaped by decisions and actions made long ago by our ancestors." However, ancestors be-come forgotten as the circle of life moves on." Time is what we all are powerless over.

There's also an irony that a woman without children should be assigned this reading." I am the end of my own line and I have come to terms with that long ago." However, I take great comfort in knowing that I am part of God's family and I believe that there is a place for me in God’s kingdom, along with my many known and unknown ancestors.Kim DeNero Ackroyd

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W E E K O F F O U R A D V E N T

Fourth Week of Advent


“Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me, Let them lead me to your holy hill, to the home of integrity.”! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Psalm 43:3; Psalms for Praying!







God of all hope and joy, open our hearts in welcome, that your Son Jesus the Christ at his coming may find in us a dwelling prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.

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Suggested Family Practices During the Fourth Week of Advent

• Did the members of your household set up a cup full of things to do together during the second week of Advent? If you did, draw an item from the cup at the beginning of this week and schedule the time to carry it out.

• God Sightings: Start each day with the intention of seeing where God is with you during the day. At dinner time, share with each other where you saw or felt God in your life that day. Look for God in the ordinary events that happen through your day!

• Treat every person you meet today (even those who irritate you by cutting you off in traffic or by holding up the check out line at the store) as though they mani-fest God.

• As you head into the final rush of Christmas preparations and then enter the holiday season, take some time out to read The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho (Harper Collins, 2006).

• For younger readers, read the story, Jacob’s Gift, by Max Lucado, together. Talk about what gifts you have been given and what gifts you can give.

• Watch the movie, The Nativity Story (rated PG, New Line Cinema, Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, 2006, produced in DVD format in 2007).

• Bake Christmas cookies together. Double your recipe and take half of your cook-ies to a neighbor you do not know very well, to your local volunteer fire depart-ment, or to the staff of a medical facility in your area.

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Psalm 24John 3:16-21

Many people have told me that I am no good at taking the easier road. This is true in everything from hiking to theological reflection. When I go for a hike, I am the one who will end up scrambling over large rocks while there is a smooth path adjacent to them. I’ll enjoy it, but it will take me longer and by the end of it I will be a little more tired than the person who took the smooth path.

I adopt the same approach when it comes to theological reflection. As I sat down to write this reflection, I tried several times to write about something other than the one line in the gospel of John that keeps nagging at me. It’s the line that reads “He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not be-lieved in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). For what does condemnation have to do with a God who “so loved the world that he gave his only Son” to it? And what does condemnation have to do with Advent’s anticipation of God again coming into the world to live a human life?

There are commentators who remind us that God is both a God of love and justice, so while we cannot ignore the judgment and condemnation in the reading, what really matters is that we emphasize a loving God instead. Then there are those who remind us not to read John too literally, especially given the nature of the religious and cultural divisions within the time the gospel was written. I do not find either of these approaches very satisfying. What is slightly more satisfying is this: the reading does not say that God condemns and judges those who do not believe. I am inclined to think that the Johannine community interpreted God’s actions coming into the world this way. And while this observation about the John text does not resolve all the questions one might ask about this passage, it does at least give me an un-derstanding I can live with. And that, to me, seems like more than enough in a season like Advent, which asks us to believe in the midst of a world that does not easily imagine a God who enters fully into human life.Sarah Bania-Dobyns

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I am a deeply skeptical person so this selection from Matthew’s Gospel raised a lot of doubts in my mind. I certainly can’t take it as a report of anything that actually happened. I just can’t imagine how Matthew would have known that. What, then, can I make of it here, now, nearly two thousand years after the event, whatever it was? When I think about this I find myself close to Matthew, trying to get at what he was thinking when he wrote these sen-tences. What I come up with is something like this: Matthew is trying to pin down, in terms of his time and culture, who Jesus is. He had a hard time doing it; to get anywhere near the mind-blowing effect that Jesus had on him he had to dig deep into the Biblical lore that he had been steeped in. Despite all his efforts Matthew’s nativity story doesn’t convince me. I can even poke a few holes in his arguments. But the point isn’t whether or not I’m con-vinced. The point is that Matthew is convinced. He knew who Jesus was and did the best job he could to tell the world about him. I will rejoice in the record that Matthew left; his faith will strengthen my faith, and I will try to tell who Jesus is in terms of my time and culture. Jim Bolce

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“Praise the Lord!” I catch myself repeating this phrase in my best (and authentic, since I am a Georgia Peach) southern drawl at least once a day. Southerners really do know how to integrate religion into all aspects of life, don’t we? I wish I could say that I’m actually having an authentic religious experience or feeling a spiritual connection with the divine in that mo-ment. I’m more likely using the phrase in some sort of imitative flattery that borders on mockery of my kinfolk in South Georgia with the overemphasized diphthongs, sugary-sweet hospitality and butter-soaked cooking. Now that I have your attention:

“Praise the Lord!” These words roll off our tongues easily in prayers and during liturgy but how conscious are we of what we mean with these words? Since this phrase is written in second person narrative, the grammar stickler in me wonders to whom we are directing this command. The feminist in me wonders why we’re still emphasizing the"monarchical"patriar-chy. When we read this phrase in church, our inflection sounds like our sarcastic reaction to the prediction of cloudy skies in Cleveland. “Praise the Lord. Clouds again? Really? That’s original, Lake Erie.” In what context(s) do we actually mean for a Lord to be praised? What do our actions, micro and macro, look like if we’re praising the Lord? What do we want to happen when we say those words?

Psalm 113 seems to say that this Lord we’re praising makes a reservation for dusty and poor, ash-covered needy people at the same table as the princes who are leaders of the peo-ple. I’m sure your imagination can easily update that image with present-day figures and ar-chetypes so I’ll spare you from mine. Does praising “him” mean actually doing what “he” is doing? Does it mean that we respect and admire this work as historical analogy? Does it call us to actually participate in present times? And if we do, what kind of commitment does that involve, time-wise, financially, socially, or for society?

My intention with these questions is not to negate the ways that these words are used to comfort, celebrate, or share common beliefs. It is merely to open doors to new and deeper growth, allowing the words and traditions of thousands of years to push us into the future we dream of. Join me?Gwen Stembridge

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C H R I S T M A S

Christmas Day

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.! !

Isaiah 11:1

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C H R I S T M A S

Christmas Day

A Table Liturgy for the Feast of Christmas

Family and Friends gather around the table with joy and thanksgiving.

Host! Blessed be God, who has gifted us with the blessings of Life.

Host! As we light these candles adorning our table, may we remain ever mind-ful of the Light that has come into the world.

The candles are lighted.

Host! Let each of us, on the great and holy feast of the Incarnation pause now and in silence lift up our hearts to God in gratitude for the blessings we now enjoy.

Pause for silent prayer.

Host! God of all gifts, our home is filled with joy and great beauty on this feast of Christmas. As a family we give you thanks for the gifts of food and the love of family and friends. We thank you that we are able to be together to share the joy of this ancient holy day. We especially give thanks for our friends _____________, who, by their being present in our home have added to the brightness of our celebration.

Host! God of all gifts, with fullness of heart we now ask your blessing upon the food we are about to receive, upon our family and upon our friends who have joined us for this great feast.

All! ! Merry Christmas!

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C H R I S T M A S M E D I T A T I O N 2 013

Christmas Day

Psalm 19!! ! ! ! John 1:1-18

Although this Gospel lesson contains none of the conventional and familiar elements of the Christmas story — the manger, shepherds, angels, and magi — it is in one sense far more real. This “other” Christmas story enables us to grasp that the story of the birth of Jesus is the story of God coming into our world. It is the story of God engaging the world in which we live rather than some idealized world.

The message of Christmas is that God did not stay distant from humanity. Rather, in Je-sus, God chose to dwell with humanity — in the midst of human weakness, confusion, and pain. To be human is to know joy, pain, suffering, and loss. It is to love, to grieve, and some-day to die. The incarnation binds Jesus to the "everydayness" of the human experience and it is in the depth of our humanity that we discover the power of the Sacred.

Only slowly have I come to understand that God's presence is not about making every-thing in this life perfect and "right" from my perspective. Rather, the love of God is demon-strated by God's willingness to be present in my life as I struggle with my fear and faith — struggle within my humanity. God is willing to meet me where I am — not as a saint, in per-fection, but in my humanity, in my frailty and need. It is only with this recognition that the story of the incarnation becomes real in my life.

The mystery of the Christmas story is that God meets us where we are. As Teresa of Av-ila noted, our problem is not our human struggles. Our problem is that we live our lives as though God were absent —becoming so caught up in our daily struggles that we fail to ac-knowledge “God with us.” Christmas is a cyclical reminder of God's presence in the midst of ordinary life — of the extraordinary being found within the ordinary. The good news is that it is precisely in our humanity that heaven is joined to earth and earth to heaven. The message of Christmas is that it is through us that the kingdom/queendom of God becomes manifest — on earth, even as it is in heaven.

Kay Rackley

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References/ResourcesThe Lectionary Cycle

! Daily Lectionary comes from Celtic Prayers from Iona by J. Philip Newell! Sunday Readings (Year A) comes from the Book of Common Prayer

Prayers in the Home Liturgies adapted from

Prayers for the Domestic Church: A Handbook for the Worship in the Home by Edward Hays

Celebrating the Church Year: Intergenerational Learning for the Parish from Advent thru Pente-cost by Heidi K. E. Hawks, See Spirit Grow

A New Zealand Prayer Book, The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Plynesia

Practices for Advent come from

The Joshua Project: Living the Word through the Week by Heidi K. E. Hawks and Kay Rackley, See Spirit Grow

Pictures

Of Trinity Cathedral courtesy of Sam Hubish

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