Category: Theological Animation

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness

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candleA Prayer for Advent. Written by Wesley Morris

Our God – who moves in heaven – and Earth
We praise and bless your holy name
Author of night and day

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness.
Into the womb of advent, the place of preparation.
When the world condemns our effort to reveal the true life,
draw us near – one to another.
Whisper to us in our communion –
reminders that you are here.

In this season, we seek the gentle care of your instruction
To find your simple peace.
You are our best guide in these times.
Teach us to hold our concerns
In community
With beloved speech and listening.
Our hearts, though tossed and turned, find refuge in your complete shadow.

Your word heals a multitude of harms.
Prepare our minds for what we do not know

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness

As you have taught,
Amen Continue reading “Lead us beside and into the still Darkness” →

Advent: The Wilderness in a Very Small Place

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seasonsExcerpt and reflection from Bill Wylie-Kellermann’s Seasons of Faith and Conscience: Explorations in Liturgical Direct Action

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way
of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be
made low; the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” (Matthew 11:2-6)

By tradition and history of the church, John the Baptist is associated with Advent. At the turn of the church year, the end and the beginning, he stands, one foot in each, to announce the coming of the Lord. John is the image of Advent par excellence: pre-eminent personage, spokesperson, figure, and voice. He is the very personification of the season, as seen in these two passages. Continue reading “Advent: The Wilderness in a Very Small Place” →

Let it be Christmas, the real one

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solidaridad201617.jpgBy Pedro Casaldáliga (English translation by Rebel Girl), Reposted from Religión Digital

Que sea Navidad, la verdadera.
Las barbas crecidas y blancas,
y los supermercados del consumismo,
deben quedar al margen.

Y nosotros debemos plantarnos en medio del egoísmo
y negarnos a la profecía absurda,
para abrir espacio al llanto y al canto de la solidaridad
y al grito de los pequeños y excluidos.

Que sea verdad todo lo que decimos en la liturgia y el folclore.
Que sea una Navidad de las raíces de Belén,
el Misterio de la Encarnación llamándonos a hacer Reino cada día.

Que sea Navidad, que no nos perdamos la Navidad. Continue reading “Let it be Christmas, the real one” →

Christmas Beatitudes 2016

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carter.jpgBy Carter Heyward

Blessed are those who are kind, especially when it’s hard

Blessed are those angry for justice in situations of unfairness and oppression,

Blessed are the compassionate in times of hatred,

Blessed are those who speak honestly when pummeled by lies — and who seek truth when confronted by fake news,

Blessed are those who keep their courage in the face of belligerent bullies, Continue reading “Christmas Beatitudes 2016” →

Reflection on an Advent Morning

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized, Watershed Discipleship2 Comments

turkeys.jpgBy Joyce Hollyday

I know the contours of this land as intimately as I know the arc of Advent: the slope of the pasture and height of the ridge, the thick canopy of the pine forest and black deep of the pond. I walk every morning on an unchanging trail, secure in the embrace of these steadfast mountains believed to be the oldest in the world. Continue reading “Reflection on an Advent Morning” →

Ready for Silence

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By Madeleine L’Engle

snow.jpgThen hear now the silence
He comes in the silence
in silence he enters
the womb of the bearer
in silence he goes to
the realm of the shadows
redeeming and shriving
in silence he moves from
the grave cloths, the dark tomb
in silence he rises
ascends to the glory
leaving his promise
leaving his comfort
leaving his silence
So come now, Lord Jesus
Come in your silence
breaking our noising
laughter of panic
breaking this earth’s time
breaking us breaking us
quickly Lord Jesus
make no long tarrying
When will you come
and how will you come
and will we be ready
for silence
your silence

The Rim

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silver-rim—Rose Marie Berger

The meaning is in the waiting. —R.S. Thomas

Like a silver goblet, Advent
slips round again      passing through heat

and the End of Days      a darkness
too searing for the lip. Smiths

engrave the old year beneath
the rim.      Tradition keeps memory

gradual. The pedestal base round
as the new year      full of what lies

ahead. Is it hope? Or simply
the exodus of this generation
into the flames of the one coming.

The Evangelexit Strategy

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trump-evangelicalsBy Tommy Airey

We shall not cease from exploration.
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Orange County, CA

Eighty-One Percent of white Evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump earlier this month. This awfully revealing statistic, and my month-long visit to Southern California suburbia, has given me reason to reflect on the white Evangelical Christianity that “saved me” when I was ten, kept me pure in adolescence and then socialized me into early adulthood. It was a passionate faith that I eventually had to unfriend after going on a journey of questioning, praying and studying the deeper, more complex realities of life in both the world and the church. Continue reading “The Evangelexit Strategy” →

Advent 1 Sermon

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Advent-1.pngAdvent marks the beginning of a new church year. Radicaldiscipleship also begins a new tradition for the year of posting sermons following the lectionary readings. It is a chance to honor the work of pastors who are part of this circle of radical disciples who spend each week examining the readings and the times.

Sermon by Bill Wylie-Kellermann
Advent 1 November 27, 2016, St. Peter’s Episcopal, Detroit

Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44

Advent is certainly the favorite liturgical season in our family. My own as well. We embrace the holy in candle-lit darkness as in our Taize services beginning tomorrow evening. In fact, in our household we light the wreath and sing on the eve before – kind of like a Jewish Shabbat service beginning the day at sundown. It’s the hour of prophetic promise. We anticipate the dawn and wait. There is a wakefulness in the dark, like a stiff cold breeze on the face. The stripped down sparseness of the season is so welcome a counter to the commercial shopping season of frenzied anxiety. Not to denigrate gift giving, but to deepen the gift, I commend it more as a season of gift making, than gift buying. In those crafts and constructions are a place for prayer. Continue reading “Advent 1 Sermon” →