A poem for the Winter Solstice from Ric Hudgens.
When night comes early
darkness creeping in
before we sit at supper
an urge rises beneath
my throat for connection
with this earth and all
that is connected by it. Continue reading “Prayer of Intention”
Written and preached by Denise Griebler
Matthew 1:18-25
Isaiah 7:10-17
So Mary and Joseph are engaged.
To get to an engagement – there’s been, well, engagement. Mary and Joseph have been engaging with one another. They’ve been engaging each other’s families. There have been a long series of yeses.
But it’s not a straight line. It rarely is.
Matthew is so sparse in his description of events that it’s difficult for brain and heart not to search out Luke’s account and collapse the two. It’s not good exegetical form to do this. But I’m afraid my heart cannot resist the temptation. In the passage that comes just before this one we get a long list of fathers and sons (with a few interesting mothers thrown in the mix – Tamar the prostitute, Rahab the spy, Ruth the immigrant – outsiders, upstarts, all outrageous and unexpected) – and then at this long list of sons begat by fathers, comes the promise of a child, who will be God with us, God’s own and Mary’s. Continue reading “Sermon 4th Sunday Advent: Joseph’s Yes”
From Adbusters:
This year, why not take a path less traveled?
Opt-out of the consumer fest that the holidays have become, the weeks of overconsumption that leave you feeling empty. Quit performing out of habit.
Think back to your fondest memories, those moments of real joy.
What might the holidays be like if you refused to hit the mall … let your friends know that you’re not accepting gifts (and not giving any either) … give back to people in real need … and if you do have to give a gift go indie or go rogue … make it yourself … inject some life back into that sedated and automatic sense of time. Continue reading “#BUYNOTHINGXMAS”
An Advent sermon from Rev. Timothy Jones of Community Baptist Church of New Haven, CT–a look back at last week’s Hebrew Bible text Malachi 3:16-18:
There’s no question that the secular imagination of the Christmas Holiday has an influence on how we imagine this Advent season. There are many aspects of what I’m going to call “the Holiday Season” that overlap with Advent, but in some very real ways, we need to distinguish between “the Holidays” and Advent. There is, in the Holiday sense, a Happiness, a kind of jolliness that is associated with the season that is different from the very real and situated joy that should come from Advent. And sometimes I’m worried that the Jolly sensibility of the Holiday season makes it difficult for us to receive all that God has for us in this season. Continue reading “Recovering Our Advent Awe”
—Jan Richardson, from The Cure for Sorrow
So may we know
the hope
that is not just
for someday
but for this day—
here, now,
in this moment
that opens to us:
hope not made
of wishes
but of substance,
hope made of sinew
and muscle
and bone, Continue reading “Blessing of Hope”
A 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”
Excerpt 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”
By Lydia Wylie-Kellermann
Darkness started to fall as we foraged through the pile of snow clothes in the backseat of the car. My dad drove the same route we had done so many times as my mom helped us find the lost mitten or wool sock. We pulled in across the street and rolled out of the car barely visible inside the bundle of warmth. We crossed the street and stood as a heavy stream of cars exited the driveway beside us. My parents held signs and lit a single purple candle for it was the first Monday in Advent. Continue reading “Candles on the Street”
From INCITE!,a national activist organization of radical feminists of color advancing a movement to end violence against women of color and our communities through direct action, critical dialogue and grassroots organizing:
INCITE! identifies “violence against women of color” as a combination of “violence directed at communities,” such as police violence, war, and colonialism, and “violence within communities,” such as rape and domestic violence. Continue reading “Violence Against Women of Color”
This is the first question of a longer interview that Dan McKenzie did with Wes Howard-Brook in Seattle in October. A read of the full interview is well worth it, available HERE on Dan’s blog.
Dan: You mention that between the years of 1979 and 1983, you were working in Washington as a government attorney. Then, something happened and by 1985 you were completing an M.Div. You seem to allude to a remarkable, and unexpected transformation taking place in your own life. I wonder if this is also why you emphasize some of the more mystical and experiential components of faith, not to mention things like communal readings, faith-based readings with the assistance of the Spirit, and hiking in the mountains or on trails by the waterways close to you. Your studies and your areas of focus, seem to arise from deeply personal spiritual experiences. Am I wrong it wondering about this? Could you share a bit about your personal journey and how you ended up where you are today? Continue reading “Baptized Into Resistance Work”
Radical Discipleship 