Archives: Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? #15Reflections for Christmas and Advent |
Reflections for Advent and the Christmas Season
- First Sunday of Advent
- Second Sunday of Advent
- Third Sunday of Advent
- Fourth Sunday of Advent
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas I
- Epiphany
Reflections for Advent and the Christmas Season
by Jim & Kathy McGinnis
Using These Reflections
The resources provided here offer individuals, families and other small groups a way to remember the reason we celebrate this holy season. The reflections begin the first week of Advent and follow through the Feast of Epiphany.
Before Advent begins, make an Advent wreath. Find a book with instructions or follow these simple directions. Take a large, flat shallow bowl (at least 9 inches in diameter) and fill it with sand or coarse salt. Place four purple candles securely around the edge of the bowl. Place a large white candle in the center. Make a circle of evergreens and place them around the bowl.
You will also need a manger scene, a Bible and matches. Light one purple candle the week of Advent I; two the week of Advent II, etc. Light all five beginning on Christmas Eve.
Set aside time each week to worship, perhaps after a meal on Sundays. Invite those who may be alone to join in your worship.
Depending on the ages of those in your group, adults may want to read the biblical reflections beforehand.
The worship items on pages 14, 21 and 26 could be read or sung several times. Incorporate parts or all of the Advent-Christmas calendar on pages 15-18 into worship time, especially as a discussion starter.
Gather around the Advent wreath. Take turns reading, lighting the candles, praying, singing and sharing feelings and ideas.
About the Reflections' Authors
The following seven new reflections are by Jim and Kathy McGinnis, founders and co-directors of the Institute for Peace and Justice and of the Parenting for Peace and Justice Network. They are active workshop leaders and authors of more than a dozen books and audio-visual programs.
Reflections
by Jim & Kathy McGinnis
First Sunday of Advent
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"We Are All the Work of Your Hands"
"Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?" (Isaiah 63: 17)
It's December 1 and already we are caught up in the rush toward Christmas. That's what it often feels like - a rush. "Avoid the last-minute rush," we're told. "Start your Christmas shopping now. There are only 24 more shopping days until Christmas!" This is supposed to be a holy season; a season of preparation for the coming of Jesus, our servant savior for whom earthly goods meant nothing. Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways? Last year we promised we wouldn't let it happen again, but we can already feel this mad rush coming on.
"Yet, O Lord, you are our divine parent; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands." (Isaiah 64: 7)
You continue to be patient with us, nudging us closer to what you had in mind when you began this work of art that each of us is. What an incredible thought - each of us is your own work of art in progress. You create each of us to embody your love in a way no one else can. We are clay in your loving hands, being molded until we reflect that beauty you've had in mind for us for all eternity.
Divine potter, you value us for who we are, not what we have. Help us sense more fully and claim this dignity you have given each of us. Remind us to respect ourselves and co-create with you this unique living work of art, more precious than Michaelangelo's most beautiful sculpture. Help us cooperate with you each day this Advent and see what beautiful gift for you and others each of us will be by Christmas Day.
"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." (Mark 13: 33).
Exactly! We have to be alert to the wonderful opportunities each Advent day presents for seeing and serving those around us. You really do need us, don't you, Abba, to be your messengers of love during this season. Each phone call has this wonderful potential for attentive service of others. Each knock on our door - at home, at work, wherever - is a moment pregnant with the possibility of love. Like the servants in today's Gospel, each of us has "our own work" without which the beloved community of God will not be as complete as God intends.
For Family Reflection and Action
1. Christmas cards and letters. We can add a personal note or touch to each greeting we send, honoring the specialness of each recipient.
2. Personal gifts. We can search for the kind of gifts that reflect the beauty of each person on our gift list. We can make sure that our first present for each person might be a special form of personal presence to them during this season.
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Second Sunday of Advent
"Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord"
"In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low..." (Isaiah 40: 3)
People of all ages know this famous line from the musical Godspell - "Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Prepare ye the way of the Lord..." Our Advent preparation has to begin with silence. God wants to speak tenderly to our hearts, but we won't hear our God if our days are filled with noise and busyness. We cannot do the re-examination and re-ordering of our priorities - leveling mountains, filling valleys, straightening the ways of our lives - unless we set aside time each day to listen in silence to God's voice within.
As we listen to God in silence and take to heart the words of today's Scripture readings, we are asked to remove those obstacles that hinder our wholehearted "yes" to God's way - the way of Jesus. We are asked to find a better balance in our lives - making time for prayer, for play, for people, for family, for those in need, for rest, for creativity, as well as work inside and outside our homes. What are the major obstacles for achieving the kind of healthy and holy balance God desires for each of us? Each of us has our own addictions, obsessions, weaknesses, and Advent is an ideal time to focus on them, one at a time. No matter what our issues are, there are some general prescriptions that can apply to all of us. Less noise and a slower pace; less TV and computer time and more people time; sharing with a trusted friend, family member, or counselor; listen more; pray the Scriptures daily. If we do these, we will be more ready to recognize our God and respond enthusiastically. For Isaiah tells us...
"Here is your God!... Like a shepherd God feeds his flock; in his arms God gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care." (Isaiah 40: 10-11)
Oh what God has in store for those who take the time to recognize, hear, and allow God's tender and lavish shepherd to feed, carry and lead them. When we open our hearts and lives to the special comings of Jesus during this holy season, we will be richly blessed.
And we will be a blessing for others as well. For our good shepherd has given each of us a portion of his flock to tend as well. Who is it in our lives that we should be feeding this season? Who should we be gathering in our arms? Who should we be leading back to the ways of God, inviting them to straighten out some of the crooked pathways in their lives?
For Family Reflection and Action
1. Make time this week to share with one another your own hopes and efforts to prepare for the coming of Jesus this year.
2. Identify some way(s) you as a whole family can be a "good shepherd" for others in your extended family, community, or world.
Third Sunday of Advent
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"Bring Glad Tidings to the Poor"
"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners..." (Isaiah 61:1-2a)
This "Jubilee Year" passage is true every year. Oh how blessed we are and blessed to be the anointed of God in our own time and place to bring glad tidings to the poor, healing to the brokenhearted, and liberty and release to prisoners and other captives. Because God has so loved us, we are to be lavish in our love of God's special people. The Christmas holidays are especially difficult for the poor, for the brokenhearted (depressed), and for those in prison. At my sister's funeral recently, her friends and family celebrated her unique commitment to the people of her neighborhood, some of whom had no "home" except for her tavern in downtown Seattle. She never could come to St. Louis for the extended family Christmas because her extended family in Seattle needed her for their turkey dinner and fellowship Christmas evening.
Some families extend themselves during Christmas, adding a place or two at their dinner table for those without family, adding others to their holiday outings to cut down a Christmas tree or enjoy the Christmas lights or go caroling. In many cities, groups like Lutheran Family and Children Services or a Criminal Justice Ministry program collect toys for children whose parents are incarcerated. Other families take post-Christmas time to bring their love and skills to peoples in places like Haiti and Nicaragua. Others stay much closer to home and visit those in prison, nursing homes and shelters.
"He was not the light, but came to testify to the light." (John 1: 7)
John the Baptist was clear about his role. He was not the light, the Messiah, but he was called to herald the long-awaited coming of this Messiah God. Yes, Jesus is the light of the world. But he makes it clear that each of us is also called to testify to the light, not so much in words as in our deeds. Yes, in the words of a Christian hymn that resonates in my head and heart - "You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before all that they may see the good that you do and give glory to God." So when I'm with the men in the Violent Offender Program that I work with in a Missouri prison, especially during this season, I have no hesitation asking them why they think I've been so much a part of their lives for so long. "It's because God has sent me to you and you to me."
For Family Reflection and Action
1. How can our family be "good news for the poor" this season?
2. Sing "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." and decide how each person can let their little lights shine for those who live in darkness most of the time.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
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"Behold Your Handmaid, O Lord"
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1: 28)
How Mary was stunned with this greeting. We would be, wouldn't we? God, the Infinite, the awesome, the creator of all, announces that Mary is to give birth to the embodiment of her creator's love. She is to bear the "Son of God." The equally amazing reality of faith is that we, too, have been chosen, each one of us, to bear in our own person the embodiment of our creator's love. No, it's even more amazing. We are to BE the embodiment of God's love. God wants to come into being more fully in each of us, for our time and place. "Hail, Jessica, full of grace... Hail, Tyrone, full of grace... Hail, Juanita, full of grace..."
"It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went..." (2 Samuel 7: 8-9).
If God chose the lowliest of his people - David, the shepherd boy - to be his great king; if God chose Mary, among the lowly of her society - to bear his son; why not us too? Just as God announced to David and to Mary, God says to us too, "I have great things in store for you, but you have to do it my way. I'm in charge; not you. Whose Christmas is it, anyway? At least let me be in charge of Christmas! If I want my love to be incarnated in you this Christmas, trust me. Let me lead you to those people and places where I really need you at this time. Watch what I can do with you and through you and for you. You just have to let me have my way with you. See, just as I did for Mary, so I will also send my Holy Spirit to come upon you and my power - "the power of the Most High" - will do in you amazing things. Trust me. David did. Mary did."
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1: 38)
Why not consent to let God have God's way with us? Each morning and/or evening during these special days of grace we might place ourselves in the presence of God, on our knees if we are able, with our hands and arms outstretched, saying with our bodies as well as with our souls - "behold, your handmaid, O God. Yes, let it be done to me and through me just as you wish."
For Family Reflection and Action
1. Give yourself some quiet time to reflect on how Mary felt and responded to this strange visitation from her God. Put yourself in her position and hear God's angel speaking those same words to you. "Hail, _______, full of grace, your God is with you..."
2. In private and as a whole family, reflect upon those places and people to whom God seems to be sending you this Christmas season and how you can be an embodiment of God's love with each of them.
Christmas Eve
"You Shall Be Called 'My Delight'"
"No more shall people call you 'Forsaken,' or your land 'Desolate,' but you shall be called 'My Delight,' and your land 'Espoused.'" (Isaiah 62: 4)
"And they shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" (Matthew 1: 22)
Oh how much God loves each of us! Why would God have made each of us if God didn't really love us? No matter how forsaken we might feel, how desolate about how things are going in our lives or in the lives of others we care about, we do have a God who is passionately in love with us - like a spouse; like "Abba" ("Daddy"). Why would God have gone to all the trouble to become incarnated among us in the person of Jesus - "Emmanuel" - if God wasn't desperately in love with us, desperately wanting us to find complete fulfillment and joy in a life of service to others and union with our "Daddy"? If we reflect on how much joy and delight we get watching a baby smile and squirm or a young child laugh and play or spontaneously hug someone, how much more must God delight in us.
And then to be able to say to others we care about - "you are my delight. You are so special to me." And that's what today and every day this season is all about - telling our children and friends how delightful they are to us; telling our spouses how deeply we love them and how grateful we are to be their espoused.
And then to find ways of reminding those without children or spouses or perhaps even close friends how delightful they are, how grateful we are to be a tiny part of their lives. If this is God's "Christmas greeting" to all God's people, maybe we are the ones God is asking to deliver this message.
For Family Reflection and Action
1. Close your eyes and hear God saying to you - "you are my delight. I really delight in you!" Say this again and again the rest of this day. Maybe even write it down and tape it to the mirror you use to begin each day. And write your name as the first word God says - "Jim, you are my delight."
2. As a family, name several things about each family member that God probably especially delights in. Then name one or more persons in your extended family and/or circles of friends who don't feel delightful at this time and identify ways you can help them see how delightful they really are.
3. Alone or as a whole family, talk about whether there are others to whom God may be wanting you to deliver God's Christmas greetings. Decide how best to communicate God's greeting. Perhaps share with others in your family or friendship circle what you're up to and, afterwards, how it went.
Christmas 1: Holy Family Sunday
"Over All These Clothes, Put on Love"
"They took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord... As the child's father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary: ...a sword will pierce your own soul..." (Luke: 2: 32-34).
This first description of "the holy family" is a painful one, one that most families can identify with. No matter how much we love our children, or, better, precisely because of how much we love them, we will suffer with them. Their hurts become our hurts. And at some point we have to let them go.
One of the most poignant and pertinent 20th century descriptions of a holy family is from the Lebanese poet/philosopher Kahlil Gibran. In THE PROPHET, his description of holy parenting has inspired millions of families. "These children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you; and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you... You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and bends you with might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness; for even as the Archer loves the arrow that flies, so the Archer loves also the bow that is stable."
"...You should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another. Forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins... Over all these clothes, put on love... Children, be obedient... Parents, don't nag your children lest they lose heart." (Colossians 3: 12-14, 20-21.
Paul's description of a holy family has a little something for every family member, but behind each admonition is the foundation of all family life - love. This gentle, affirming and forgiving love so beautifully expressed in 1st century Christianity has been uniquely specified in a "Family Pledge of Nonviolence" for the 21st century. As an outline for family holiness, especially during this UN Decade (2000-2010) for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Sake of the Children of the World, families of faith throughout the world are reaffirming this Sunday their commitment to this Family Pledge. We offer it here as a practical way of living year-round the message of today's readings.
The Family Pledge of Nonviolence
"Making peace must start within ourselves and in our family. Each of us, members of the ____________ family, commit ourselves as best we can to become nonviolent and peaceable people:
Respect self and others. To respect myself, to affirm others and to avoid uncaring criticism, hateful words, physical attacks and self-destructive behavior.
Communicate better. To share my feelings honestly, to look for safe ways to express my anger, and to work at solving problems peacefully.
Listen carefully. To listen carefully to one another, especially those who disagree with me, and to consider others' feelings and needs rather than insist on having my own way.
Forgive. To apologize and make amends when I have hurt another, to forgive others, and to keep from holding grudges.
Respect nature. To treat the environment and all living things, including our pets, with respect and care.
Play creatively. To select entertainment and toys that support our family's values and to avoid entertainment that makes violence look exciting, funny or acceptable.
Be courageous. To challenge violence in all its forms whenever I encounter it, whether at home, at school, at work, or in the community, and to stand with others who are treated unfairly.
Epiphanyof the Lord
"Then They Opened Their Treasures..."
"Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you... Nations shall walk by your light..." (Isaiah 60: 1, 3)
Jerusalem was the symbol of light and peace for God's Hebrew people and therefore for Jesus. The Hebrew prophets for centuries kept this vision and promise of the light that would be theirs on the day of the Messiah. And behold, that day burst forth in the town of Bethlehem. Jesus - the light, love, and peace of God made flesh - preached and lived this message. But, like the Hebrew prophets before him, he was rejected by the very people he came to save, especially in his city of peace, Jerusalem. The violence in Jerusalem brought Jesus to tears - "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, if only today you knew the things that make for peace!" (Luke 19: 42).
We can imagine Jesus' tears and hear his words addressed to our own nation. We see ourselves as the symbol of peace and freedom for the rest of the world, with other nations walking by our light. "America, America, if only today you knew the things that make for peace!" When we are at our best, we are light for the world. But today's readings challenge us, individually and as a nation, to rise up and be the best we can be, because often we are not.
"They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures ..." (Matthew 2: 11)
As a nation, we can open our great wealth and share it far more justly. As individuals, while we may not have the wealth of kings, most of us are relatively wealthy, at least compared with the majority of the world. How can we open up our own treasure for others? In terms of the needy in our own community, we can reach out to children in poverty by becoming mentors - "each one teach one." We can encourage young people to assist us with work around our homes - shoveling snow, cutting grass, helping with a garden. Whole families can spend an afternoon or evening at a shelter and play with the children there as well as eat dinner together.
In terms of the economically poor in other nations, especially at gift-giving times, we can purchase the handicrafts of artisans from these "Third World" countries. Some families spend Epiphany bringing their "presence" to villagers in Haiti and Nicaragua. As Grethel Montoya, head of the "Organized Women" in the Nicaraguan village of Mulukuku, put it to our delegation of three families years ago - "Ustedes son la manifestacion de Dios a nosotros" (you are the manifestation of God to us), but we turned it around and told her that she and the others in Mulukuku are the manifestation of God to us! And they were, but so were we. Others who can't bring their presence in person have sponsored children in other countries. In Nicaragua, the "Nino a Nino" program makes it possible for children to attend elementary school, plus some after-school enrichment activities. North Americans finance the program at $50 per child.
For Family Reflection and Action
1. What gifts can you, individually and/or as a family, bring to those in need around you and overseas?
2. How can you do more faithfully the "things that make for peace"? Use the Family Pledge of Nonviolence as your guide.
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This page last updated 5 Nov 2015
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