Creighton University's Online Ministries
Advent Sharing
| Faith of a child…my four-year-old grandson
said, “I can stay outside here right? because Santa is out here!” referring
to the wooden Santa on the lawn in the front yard. That comment stayed
with me all day. His belief that Santa loved him and no harm would
come to him was astounding.
Although God has sustained me for more then
50 years, and promised me that nothing could separate me from his love,
I am still waiting for my little faith to increase. I take a lesson
from a four-year-old waiting for Christmas with trust, joyful anticipation.
Yesterday I went for a walk in my neighborhood on a perfect, clear winter day. I looked up at the trees empty and stark against the intense blue of the sky. Below my feet the snow created a white carpet. These days are so short, so cold and so beautiful. We are in the dark times now and must light our candles to help us through the long almost winter night. I am reminded that God is with us in the light and in the darkness. And there I saw Beauty. Have I lost my view of You? One can imagine, one can read, one can presume, and one can just believe. God-made-Man. I even have shades of understanding -- but I never had a view of such Beauty. When it comes down to it -- it is about a Manger to a Cross. So you will never get lost, never strangers. I said that I opened up my heart to You -- and this is what I found -- Beauty. I'm a Christian Minister - and this advent I'm not involved in the normal round and build up to our great celebration. The doctor (a beautiful and kind muslim) has ordered me to take 'things easy' while I undergo investigations and tests for a heart problem. So I've opportunity to sit back and reflect. I'm so used to racing around, preparing carol concerts, writing sermons, arranging the delivery of Christmas food and toy parcels and organising warm dinners for the old folk, as well as all the pastoral visitation that somehow seems to take on an extra dimension at this time of year. And now...nothing...my wife won't even let me write a card! I've discovered that I'm not very good at doing nothing. But I remember what Abraham said to the Lord at the tree of Mamre:'Not by chance, not for nothing did you pass by me this day'. And I'm finding so much truth in the miracle of space and time to think and pray. Not by chance! And it is the same in the nativity story - not by chance did Joseph have to return to Bethlehem...not by chance did they encounter shepherds and wise men...not by chance...not for nothing did God pass through the human race in the guise of a little child; through the lives of a poor girl-mother, an itinerant woodworker...a blind man, a fisherman...through my life...the list is endless. My current nothing has little to do with chance! The best thing which I have in these advent days is MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY on this site! It consoled me, in spite of many problems in my life. It gave me new ways for living. Yes, just for almost two weeks. So, I want to thanx to people on Creighton and their work and care for us. And I can recomend the similar experience by using 34 weeks 'on line retreat' on this site. God bless you all! Advent.......Waiting.......... The song ' only a shadow ' comes to mind - Our love for you oh Lord is only a shadow of your love for us.... I feel that our waiting is only a shadow of the waiting he does for us. The waiting for us to recognize him in our daily lives. The waiting to give us the gift, the waiting for us to receive, the waiting for us to be disposed to receiving. A group of seven women gather weekly around the Advent wreath in my living room to sing,pray and share our faith.My 91 year old mother loves her hospitality role pouring coffee and passing the goodies the girls bring from ther home.We use many resources to help us share and deepen our faith. Joyce Rupp material provides good activities and reflections for us.It is quite touching to witness all the support, encouragement and wisdom that is shared during our gathering and prayer time. I went to the first night of Hannukah at a local temple. Rabbi M. told us about the three methods of lighting the candles. One text says that one candle is lit and lasts the 8 days. Another says start with 8 candles lit, and extinguish one each day as a child is born with potential and as the candles are extinguished one at a time, the child lives his or her days. Two thousand years ago, Hillel started the tradition of 8 empty candles. The rabbi suggested that what lights the candles of expectation is our hope, our love of neighbor mentioned in the third book of the torah, which leads to and is necessary to develop our love of God, commanded in the fifth book of the torah. I felt like I was listening to Jesus talking about the two greatest commandments. Good Shabbot. And Happy Hannukah. And empty fulness of Advent to you, too. "Be alert, vigilant, awake for you know not when..." Time is precious we learn in the scriptures of Advent. Recently I received a letter from someone who was diagnosed with cancer. He writes in his Christmas letter; "I am learning to live with a new appreciation of time as an unrepeatable, surprising and daily gift from the Lord. What an Advent lesson and gift to ponder. I'm trying to start this advent by also sharing in other people's joy. This means that right now I'm wishing all my muslim friends and neighbours 'Eid mubarrak'. It's a time of celebration after the fasting of Ramadan. Being aware of this helps me to reach out to my neighbours with friendship and human love - it's a small way of making clear a path for the Lord of Love. In a short time I will also wish them a 'Happy Christmas'. Ignoring the ups and downs in the lives of others (and that includes other faiths) is simply to postulate a faith without the lived reality. I want to live the reality of God - today! From a recent experience, the desire for advent was enkindle in my heart. Leaving the office downtown after a days work, a young man approached me, “could I have enough for a cup of coffee?” he asked. I looked at the slim man, with a 3-day stubble on his face, I felt the $10 I had in my pocket and invited him to the food court near-by. On our way, I learned a few things about him. I told him I would buy him a meal as well as a coffee. He said, “I do not like coffee”, and could he have a pop instead. “Sure” was my answer. I spent $6 and while we were waiting for his food, he looked at me and asked, “Will you eat with me?” “No” I said, “I missed my bus already and I am late for getting home.” As I slipped the remaining $4 in his hand, I was off to the bus stop. That night in prayer, I heard. “I asked you to eat with me!” Sorrow filled my heart. Like the virgins, I missed the coming of the Lord; I was off to many excuses not to attend the banquet. I did not keep awake as the reading of a few days ago. It is not my money or my need to help that God wanted from me, it is my companionship. A few days later, refused some sharing I really wanted, brought me much sadness. In this sadness, I felt like Mary and Joseph when there was no room at the Inn. I feel myself as Mary and Joseph but I also feel myself as the Inn Keeper. A good thing that advent come back, again and again. Like so many other Christians, I have found Advent to be a special and favorite time of year, a time of quiet prayer and reflection on the various ways Jesus comes into our life. But . . . for various reasons, this year I feel more gloomy as Advent dawns. Talk of war, thoughts of how the world has really changed since "9/11/01," the disconnect I feel between commercial Christmas and what it ought to be about (nothing new; this goes back to Dickens and beyond), a sense that "joy" is not an automatic thing and must almost be struggled for in the midst of all else that life deals us. And so, what is the grace in this, the gift of God? Surely there is one. Watching and waiting for that gift remains part of classic Advent prayer. Jesus, shine in our gloom, our darkness, our pessimism. May we be light for each other. This Christmas will be my first Christmas without my spouse, who died suddenly in January of this year. It is also the first Christmas for my children (all young adults) without their father. This Advent (as something special) I will spend a week in silent retreat listening in the empty space, the darkness, and the silence, for the Spirit of my beloved, cradled in God’s loving heart. Christmas is always too busy. This year I decided to try something different by getting most of my shopping done in Nov. so that Dec. can be quieter. I still intend to continue family traditions of decorating, putting up the tree, baking cookies etc. but my intention is to do these things with more awareness, more slowly and with greater attention. This practice of being in the present moment has become important to me, making me more aware of God's loving presence in any ordinary day, which becomes less ordinary the more awake I am. This year will be the first Christmas after the death of both my parents. I really want Advent to be part of the healing process and to refocus on the Light that shines in the midst of a new darkness in the world, especially with an approaching war. I spend a LOT of time each December, getting the house ready for Christmas. This year I still want our house to feel special for the family, and bring back the memories of so many wonderful Christmases we had together. However, as I put up every wreath and pine cone and image, I want to recall what it means, and share some of that with my family. I am expecting company for Christmas, and while I am looking forward to it, I'm afraid I will spend the next four weeks of Advent with a To-Do list, "busy about many things" but not paying attention to God. I would like, for once, to be able to keep the balance between getting things ready for my family, showing my love for them, and being aware of the coming of our Savior. I want to be ready to Rejoice. |