17
Dec 2011

The Christ Child: Surprising Love

By 1 Comment

The Fourth Week of Advent

This is the point in the season when we need Advent the most.  The kids are wound up.  Your cookie calculations were off and now you don’t have enough for the office Christmas party tomorrow.  The suitcases are sprawled all over the floor.  You’re trying to figure out how to pack wrapped gifts, fancy holiday clothes, and bulky toddler toys without having a mental breakdown.

Here’s the perfect escape: the fourth week of Advent begins on Sunday, December 18.  Go ahead and light all four candles on your wreath.  The first candle is the Hope candle.  The second and third are the Joy and Peace candles.  For this fourth and final week, light the Love candle.  Look at how much brighter the Advent wreath is.  Jesus is coming soon.  Read aloud Matthew 1:18-25.

Advent is a time of waiting.  We are waiting for Jesus to be born.  We are also waiting for him to come again in glory to redeem the world once and for all.  Today’s reading gives us a glimpse into what it was like for Joseph and Mary to wait for Jesus’ arrival.

As Matthew explains, when Joseph found out Mary was pregnant and he was not the father, he was planning to call off their engagement.  But then an angel of the Lord intervened.  He told Joseph in a dream what God was up to with this child.  The angel even saved the couple the trouble of trolling through baby books for a name.  “‘You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins,’” the angel told Joseph.

The Lord had also spoken through the prophet Isaiah long before Joseph’s dream, long before the Holy Spirit gave Mary the child in her womb.  Matthew makes sure we know the backstory.  “‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”

Those four words—God is with us—overflow with love.  That baby in the manger is God’s love in the flesh.  Jesus is coming into our broken, sad, and conflicted world.  He is the only one who can bring us the hope, joy, and peace our hearts so desperately need.

Joseph and Mary probably waited for their son’s birth with a mix of apprehension and excitement.  They probably waited and watched throughout his life to see how the angel’s message from God would be fulfilled, how Jesus would save his people from their sins.  At the time of his nativity, they probably couldn’t imagine the cross or the empty tomb.  They couldn’t foresee how God would surprise them and the world with something even more amazing than his birth, by raising his crucified Son to new life.

Joseph and Mary didn’t know the end of Jesus’ story as they counted down the days until he was born.  But we know how God’s love overflows from the manger, to the cross, to the empty tomb, and to you and me, gathered around our Advent wreaths, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Be encouraged.  Be at peace.  Jesus hears your prayer.  It is almost Christmas.  He is coming soon.

After reading the passage from Matthew and reflecting on it together, talk about any or all of these questions for a few minutes:

  • When is a time that you have been surprised by God’s love for you?
  • How can you share God’s love with others?
  • Think about the four Advent themes we’ve talked about during this season: Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love.  Which have you felt or experienced the most during the past four weeks?  Which have you seen reflected in the lives of others?  Share your stories.

After some time of conversation and reflection, sing this verse of  “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” together.  “Emmanuel” is another name for Jesus, as we heard in the Matthew reading.  It means, “God is with us.”

  • O come, O Branch of Jesse, free your own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell your people save, and give them vict’ry o’er the grave.  Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

At the end of your Advent wreath lighting, pray together.  You can use this prayer to get started.  Children can read it and lead your family in prayer or repeat it after you.  Include prayers for people you love, and for people who are neglected and are in need of love.

  • Come, Lord Jesus, and bring your love to us.  Let it heal our brokenness, cast out fear, and bring us peace.  Help us share your love with others, especially (names). We are keeping watch for you.  We are waiting for you with hope and joy.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Amen

Advent Everyday: Each night, at dinner or whenever you can fit it in, light all four candles on your Advent wreath, the Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love candles.  Get ready for your Christmas traditions that pass on faith, such as worshiping together on Christmas Eve, saying a table grace at a family meal, or placing the baby Jesus in the manger of your nativity set.

Since we’re a clergy family with lots of worship services on Christmas Eve, we don’t have a big dinner that night.  Instead, my kids decorate cupcakes.  You could have a birthday party for Jesus anytime around Christmas.  We put one candle in each cupcake and sing happy birthday to Jesus.  I try to get a picture every year since the decorating looks pretty funny, and more importantly, because I want my kids to see themselves growing up in faith as the years go by.  My two-year old son loves to sing “Happy Birthday.”  Who better to sing it to at the end of Advent than Jesus?

 

Paige Evers is a Lutheran pastor, a mom to two young children, and the wife of a Lutheran pastor.  She thanks you for joining in her Advent celebrations this year!

Categories: Advent, Do Tags: , , , , , ,
09
Dec 2011

The Shepherds: A Surprising Sight

By 1 Comment

The Third Week of Advent

Last week’s Advent reading ended with a bunch of shepherds staring at the sky and hearing the angels sing: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”  In the dark of night, the glory of the Lord shone all around the shepherds.  They had no idea what was happening and they were terrified.  And yet, the angels’ joyful news that the Messiah, the Savior, had been born in Bethlehem propelled them past their fear and got them moving.

For this third week of Advent, beginning on Sunday, December 11, take a moment to light three candles on your wreath.  The first candle (which is getting pretty low by now, right?) is the Hope candle.  The second is the Joy candle.  For this third week, light the Peace candle.  Read aloud Luke 2:15-20.

If the Discovery Channel show “Dirty Jobs” had existed around the time Jesus was born, it would have featured shepherds in one of the first episodes.  People in Jesus’ day viewed shepherds and their work as unclean and uncivilized.  So the fact that God chose them to hear the heavenly announcement of Jesus’ birth is surprising.

The shepherds didn’t only hear the good news, though.  God also chose them to be the first ones to go and tell the good news.  Once they overcame their fear, the shepherds went to Bethlehem.  They explained to others what the big deal was about this baby in the manger.  They shared the hope, joy, and peace that would be possible for everyone now that Jesus was born.  The long-awaited Savior had come.

Try to imagine the shepherds bursting into the stable.  The sight of Joseph, Mary and Jesus making them dance around and pump their fists in the air.  “Yes, we found him!”  Then the shepherds “spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed.”

Think back to Mary’s amazement at what the angel Gabriel told her: she would bear a child who would be the Son of God.  The shepherds were similarly startled by what the angels told them: the Son of God had been born in Bethlehem.  Now the shepherds keep passing on the joyful news.  They may be unlikely messengers, but they know what they’re talking about.  God has come in the flesh to live among us.

As you wait for God’s Son to be born, take a look at your Advent wreath.  The light is growing brighter.  Our excitement for his birth is building, even as our hearts are filled with God’s peace.  It doesn’t matter how many tasks you’ve checked off your Christmas to-do list.  It’s ok if you’re feeling uncertain about what’s in store in the new year.  You have nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of.  God is taking care of that which matters most.  The Savior is coming soon.

After reading the passage from Luke 2 and reflecting on it together, talk about any or all of these questions for a few minutes:

  • When is a time that God has helped you move past your fear and get moving, as the shepherds got going in a hurry toward Bethlehem?
  • What part of the story of Jesus, from his birth to his resurrection, brings you the most peace?
  • Where are places in your life, work, school, or community that are in need of peace?  How can you be an instrument of God’s peace in those places?

After some time of conversation and reflection, sing this verse of  “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” together.  “Emmanuel” is another name for Jesus.  It means, “God is with us.”

  • O come, O King of nations, come.  O Cornerstone that binds in one: refresh the hearts that long for you; restore the broken, make us new.  Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

At the end of your Advent wreath lighting, pray and include petitions for people or places in need of peace.  You can use this prayer to get started.  Children can read it and lead your family in prayer or repeat it after you.

  • Dear God, we are waiting for Jesus to be born.  Fill our hearts with your peace as we keep watch by the manger.  Help us share your peace and love with others.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Amen

Advent Everyday: Each night, at dinner or whenever you can fit it in, light three candles of your wreath, the Hope, Joy, and Peace candles.  Throughout the week, have some family reading time with a board book or other children’s book that tells the Christmas story.  Ask your child questions about what she sees in the pictures and what she thinks will happen next.  Point out the baby Jesus and share memories with your child from when he was a baby.  Help your children sense the amazement and joy that the shepherds felt when they saw him for the first time.  Talk about the hopes they had for Jesus because of what the angels told them.  Finish your reading time with a hug.  Let your children know how much you love them and how much God loves them.

 

Paige Evers is a Lutheran pastor, a mom to two young children, and the wife of a Lutheran pastor.  Looking back, she is thankful that God got her past the fear of the unknown and got her moving to Japan, Minnesota, and Delaware, among other places.

Categories: Advent, Do, Talk Tags: , , , , , ,
04
Dec 2011

The Holy Family: A Surprising Birth

By 3 Comments

The Second Week of Advent

Normally my husband and I zip through commercials when we’re watching something we’ve recorded, whether it’s a primetime drama or a football game.  But for some reason, we have to stop and watch the remake of the Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” commercial.  It’s probably just 80s nostalgia and it will (hopefully) wear off soon.  But when that question, “Where’s the beef?” and the theme for this Advent post, “joy,” crossed in my mind, I wondered, “Where’s the joy?”

Right now, as we get ready for the second week of Advent, where is the joy?  It’s easy to look around and see a lot of not-joy, in the form of unemployment, or hurting families, or plain old loneliness.  You can probably fill in the blank for that thing in your life that brings you not-joy today: illness, or work stress, or your to do list.  It’s can be hard to look around and find joy.

But there is an answer to that question, “Where’s the joy?”  Joy is on its way. Joy is coming soon.

During the first week of Advent, we heard about hope.  We heard the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would have a child.  Not just any child, but the Son of God.

For the second week of Advent, which begins on Sunday, December 4, fast-forward nine months from the angel’s announcement.  But before you do, gather your family or take a moment for yourself.  Light last week’s candle in your Advent wreath (the Hope candle), and a second candle.  The second candle is the Joy candle.  Read aloud Luke 2:1-14.

Yes, we are jumping into the story of Jesus’ birth here in the second week of Advent.  This season is about getting our hearts ready to receive God’s Son.  In worship in many churches during Advent, the Bible readings focus on the prophecy that prepared people for a Messiah to come.  The readings also cast a vision of the end times, when the Son of God will return in glory.  While we wait for Jesus to come again and turn the world’s not-joy into joy once and for all, we are also waiting for December 25, 2011.  And the Christmas story—this year and every year—is full of joy.

In this Advent series, we’re taking time to savor the story of God’s Son coming to us, from the angel Gabriel’s announcement to the visit from the Wise Men.  I hope that with today’s reading from Luke 2 and the upcoming readings, you will get to know the characters better and find a way to experience their joy.  I hope you will pass the story of Jesus’ birth on to your children and help them see how God is bringing joy into their lives as well.

“Where’s the joy?”  Let’s take a look at how Mary and Joseph would answer that question.  Go ahead and fast-forward those nine months after Gabriel makes the surprising announcement to Mary that she will become pregnant, but not by Joseph, even though he’s engaged to her, but by the Holy Spirit, who will cause her to bear the Son of God.  When we pick up their story in Luke 2, the surprises just don’t stop.

Being nine months pregnant was hard enough, but Mary and Joseph weren’t even at home.  They were traveling to Bethlehem, Joseph’s ancestors’ home, to be counted in the census.  Traveling was hard enough, but there wasn’t a place for Mary and Joseph to stay, so she ended up giving birth in a stable and placing her newborn son in a manger.

The joy in this story begins with the baby’s cry as he enters the world and settles into his first humble home.  It’s easy to picture Joseph and Mary quietly watching their son as loving (and exhausted) new parents.  Then God turns the volume up.  He sends an angel into the fields surrounding Bethlehem.  Shepherds see the angel and are scared out of their sandals.  But the angel tells them not to be afraid, because “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”  While the shepherds are absorbing this news, a flash mob of angels appears in the sky, shouting praises to God and proclaiming peace to people.

So far, the nativity tableau is still the infant’s immediate, human family: Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, along with, of course, the animals in the stable.  But the joyful news of his birth is starting to spread.  The holy family won’t be alone for long.  The Son of God is in their midst.  He is the one who will grow up to go to the cross, to die, to be raised again, and to be the Savior of the world.   His birth is joyful because he was born for you.  To love you, to forgive you, to make you right with God, and to give you eternal life.

Where’s the joy?  Here’s the joy.  Right here, in the manger.

After reading the passage from Luke 2 and reflecting on it together, talk about any or all of these questions for a few minutes:

  • Who are some people in your world who could use some joy?  Who are people you know who are asking, “Where’s the joy?”
  • When is a time that you’ve felt full of joy?  How have you seen God at work in those joyful times?
  • As you wait for the birth of Jesus, how do you want to the great joy of his arrival to make a difference in your life and in the lives of those you love?

If music helps you express joy, sing this verse of  “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” together (it doesn’t have to be in tune!) “Emmanuel” is another name for Jesus.  It means, “God is with us.” [ED. note: Links to a few different versions of the song in this post.]

O come, blest Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by your advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.  Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

At the end of your Advent wreath lighting, pray your own prayer or use this one, which is simple enough for children to read or repeat after you.

  • Dear God, thank you for your Son, Jesus.  Joseph and Mary were full of joy when he was born.  The angels were, too.  Prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus with joy.  Help us get ready to share the joy of his birth with others.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Amen

Advent Everyday: Each night, at dinner or whenever you can fit it in, light the first and second candles of your wreath, the Hope and Joy candles.  Have your children retell the story from Luke 2 with the characters in your nativity set (you might want to have a video camera handy for this one!)  Find out some ways you can help bring joy to families in your area who are struggling: bring food to a food pantry, donate your gently used coats, or donate diapers or other items to a shelter for women and children.  Make your kids a part of this service project.  Talk with them about why you’re doing it.  Serving others, especially vulnerable families like Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus, helps us practice sharing the joy that the Christ child will bring to us and to the world.

 

Paige Evers is a Lutheran pastor, a mom to two young children, and the wife of a Lutheran pastor.  So far, in her house, Mary and Joseph have ridden in a ship, flown in an airplane, and rested in a tower made of Legos.  

Categories: Advent, Do, Talk Tags: , , , , , , , ,
03
Dec 2011

Ready . . . Set . . . WTF?!?

By 6 Comments

Even now, seven years later, I can’t stand to look at the magazines. You know the ones.

Pregnancy and You. Perfect Pregnancy. Pregnancy Where You Get To Stay In The Same Place And Not Move At All.

Those did not apply to me. If there had been a pregnancy magazine for me, it would have been called Vomit. I experienced nine months of nausea with both kids. Even now, I can’t walk past the maternity section at Target without feeling queasy. And yes, that was the worst of it, but coming a close second, and the real reason I hate to look at pregnancy magazines, are the articles on Planning Your Perfect Nursery.

That was never an option for me. Chris and I moved three times during my first pregnancy, and we brought home both babies to temporary apartments. In the case of my daughter, I didn’t even have a nursery, just a refurbished and beautiful, but patently unsafe, antique wicker bassinet in a corner of the living room. Her clothes were in a drawer of the bureau that came with our furnished apartment. Five weeks later, we moved to Tokyo, Japan, to another furnished apartment for a month, then to a permanent apartment, but our furniture was delayed for weeks. My baby furniture, bought when I was four months pregnant, finally arrived when my daughter was three months old. For a month, we slept on blankets on the floor with mattresses of old packing boxes, and I was grateful for them.

We moved from Japan when I was seven months pregnant with my son, into an unfurnished apartment in Dallas, Texas. By this time, we knew the drill: I packed kitchen basics, sheets, and pillows in our suitcases, the first trip we made was to the futon store. The shipment with our furniture arrived two days before my son. We managed to get everything unpacked and the next day, I had a baby.

I’m 99% fine with all of this. If I had to choose interesting life over boring life, I’d choose interesting every time, and I know how lucky I was that the temporary apartments I brought my babies home to were, by any definition, swank. It shouldn’t sting — but it does. What hurts most is that I will never have the opportunity to spend six months getting ready for motherhood. I won’t ever be able to pick out nursery colors, with matching curtains and a rug. I did a little bit for my son who was five months old and we moved (at last) to our real house. I picked out the paint and the art, but it’s always been what I could do while managing to keep track of a toddler and an infant, and, by the way, cancer. My kids’ rooms look okay now, after yet another move and a lot of putting-my-foot-down, but oh! what I wouldn’t give for six months of time to focus on them the way I could have focused on my first baby’s nursery if my life were a lot less exciting. I don’t do a lot of alternate universe daydreaming, but the one that lures me in every time is the one where the nesting instinct isn’t perverted into packing mania.

The epiphany came early for me after my son was born. As we went through the season of Advent, seven years ago, I realized exactly what it must have meant to Mary to have been told, “It’s time to travel” during her most miraculous of pregnancies. I wonder whether she had had a lovely nursery all ready to go. Her husband was a carpenter, and Joseph knew what kind of baby his wife was bringing into the world. I belt he built a doozy of a crib and changing table. And then they had to leave them all behind and travel to Bethlehem, and thence, with a toddler, to Nazareth. I wonder, did Mary have to stop the donkey every few hundred cubits to throw up? Did she complain about her aching back the whole way? Did her feet swell? And, then, was she mostly grateful for a room in a stable, or resentful that she had had to leave behind her home, her family, or a little of both? We’ll never know.

But now, when I see all the streets, all the shops, all the houses all decked out for Christmas, it makes me happy. The holly. The tinsel. The lights. The bows. The beautiful nativity scenes, with Mary and Joseph and the ox and the lamb and the shepherds and the angels, and the three wise men, all wrapped up so carefully from year to year, and then taken out, dusted, and arranged just so. I imagine Mary smiling down from heaven, remembering, all those years ago, about the time she had to have a baby in a stable because there wasn’t anywhere else.

And now, this year as we do every year, as we get ready for Christmas, as we clean and cook and decorate; as we make sure everything is just the way we want it, what we’re really doing is getting ready to make a warm, safe place for Mary’s baby.

It makes me happy.

Categories: Christmas Tango Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
29
Nov 2011

Readalong Day 3

By 1 Comment

Today’s topic is “In Solitude, In Activity.” Nouwen explores the need to balance periods of activity with periods of being alone, even lonely: “Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our lives are in danger.” That’s a strong statement–in danger.

Are you feeling comfortable with solitude, especially as the “merry season” advances?

 

The Advent readalong is using the book Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen. Every day through January 5. Hop in any time.

Categories: Advent readalong Tags: , , , , , ,
28
Nov 2011

Readalong Day 2

By 1 Comment

Today’s topic is “The Root of Patience.” Nouwen writes: “What seems a hindrance becomes a way; what seems an obstacle becomes a door; what seems a misfit becomes a cornerstone.”

Patience has always been difficult for me. To sit and wait and do nothing is particularly troublesome. I have found solace in the past few years in the lyrics, “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord; we will wait upon the Lord; we will wait upon the Lord.” The idea that being patient isn’t just about doing nothing, but rather getting ready, gathering strength, so that when God needs us to we can act.

Are you feeling “watchfully alert”?

 

The Advent readalong is using the book Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen. Every day through January 5. Hop in any time.

Categories: Advent readalong Tags: , , , , , , ,
27
Nov 2011

Readalong Day 1

By 2 Comments

Today’s topic is “In the Midst of Our Dark World,” and Nouwen is asking us to think about small signs of God’s power, not big ones: “The work of our salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises.”

Have you seen any small signs of God’s power or presence in your life today?

I like the imagery in the verse from Isaiah about the shoot coming out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch coming out of his roots. It seems to put into perspective the idea of generations, that we’re not just stagnant but that we’re going somewhere. And maybe a few bad days or months with one of our children won’t impede our growth.

Thoughts?

 

The Advent readalong is using the book Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen. Every day through January 5. Hop in any time.

Categories: Advent readalong Tags: , , , , , ,
26
Nov 2011

The Angel-in-Chief: A Surprising Announcement

By 6 Comments

The First Week of Advent

It’s time to put the cornucopia centerpieces back in storage and bring out the Advent wreath.  In a recent post called “Advent Light, Advent Hope” I described Advent and how it can help slow us down and prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus.  Now I’d like to give you a few ideas for celebrating Advent at home so you can hear the story of Christmas for the first or the thousandth time.  I hope you’ll try some of these ideas over the next four weeks (we’ll have a new post for each week) so you can pass the story and the faith along to your children.

For this first week of Advent, bring your family together or set aside some time for yourself, and then light one of the candles in your Advent wreath.  This candle is the Hope candle.  Read aloud Luke 1:26-38.

In this passage, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, who is engaged but not yet married to Joseph.  Gabriel tells her a surprising announcement.  In a nutshell: “you’re going to conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit, and your child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.”  His message is confusing to Mary but it is full of hope for us.

Gabriel tells the young woman that her son will be named “Jesus,” which means, “he will save.”  This humble baby will be the Savior that Mary and her people been waiting and hoping for.  He will rescue the people from their oppressors and even save them from sin and death.  Not in the way of a conqueror as everyone was expecting, but by God taking on flesh, suffering and dying on the cross for us, and being resurrected to new life.

Christmas, the birth of Christ, is about hope.  Mary has no idea what is in store when she hears Gabriel’s shocking announcement, but she must have sensed the hope that was embedded in it.  God is about to come to people in a new way.  God’s amazing love is about to come down from heaven to earth in the form of a newborn baby.  If that can happen, anything one hopes for can happen.  During Advent, we wait and hope for the coming of Jesus and for how he will make God’s love known to us.

After reading the passage from Luke 1 and reflecting on it together, talk about any or all of these questions for a few minutes:

  • Where are some places in our world or in your community, workplace or school that could use some hope?
  • How does the birth of Jesus fulfill that hope?
  • How are you hoping for God’s love to come to you this Advent and Christmas?

If you enjoy music, sing verse 1 of  “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” together (it doesn’t have to be in tune!) “Emmanuel” is another name for Jesus.  It means, “God is with us.”

Or listen to a version of the song online. A great instrumental version is Andrew Peterson’s “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” from “Behold the Lamb.”  (iTunes version here and YouTube version here.)  A vocal version you can sing along to is Big Daddy Weave’s “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” from “Christ is Come.” (iTunes version here.) [Ed. note: I also love the version by Boys II Men for its simplicity and mystery, and the BarlowGirl version for the way it blends creepy mystery and hope.].

  • O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.  Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

At the end of your Advent wreath lighting, pray your own prayer or use this one, which is simple enough for children to read or repeat after you.

  • Dear God, thank you for the season of Advent.  Thank you for this light.  Thank you for the hope you give us in Jesus.  Help us prepare our hearts for your Son.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Amen

Advent Everyday: Each night, at dinner or whenever you can fit it in, light the first candle of your wreath, the Hope candle.  Remember the story of Gabriel coming to Mary with his surprising announcement.  God’s Son is on his way.  We hope that he will come to us.  We will not be disappointed.  If you have an Advent calendar, talk about the story as you open each day’s flap (or eat each day’s chocolate!)  Keep the theme of hope in your minds and hearts, the hope that the Christ child will bring to the world.

 

Paige Evers is a Lutheran pastor, a mom to two young children, and the wife of a Lutheran pastor.  She is working on ways to adapt her Advent calendar to tell the story of Christmas and deliver a daily dose of chocolate.  Dark chocolate, to be exact. 

 

Categories: Advent, Talk Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
20
Nov 2011

Advent Light, Advent Hope

By 6 Comments

There I was, wandering around the Hallmark store, enjoying the solitude of shopping without my two and five-year olds in tow.  I quickly found the birthday card I needed to buy and then walked around aimlessly.  Suddenly a new quest came to mind: Blue! Advent! Candles!  Found them.  Bought them from the sweet elderly Hallmark lady.  Took the candles home.

It was September and I was all set. I was so proud of myself.  Contrast this to several years in a row when, before kids, my husband and I would realize on the Saturday evening before the first Sunday of Advent, “Oh no!  We don’t have Advent candles to use at home!  Acck!  When can we get to the store?!”  My husband and I are both Lutheran pastors.  So we really had no excuse.  In those years, the season started on the appointed Sunday at our churches.  At home, we weren’t able to celebrate Advent in the way we wanted to until later in the week.  We always pledged to think ahead the next year.

So, what is Advent?  Why would it send two adults scrambling to buy blue candles in the midst of the Thanksgiving-Black Friday-oh no I’m behind on my Christmas shopping-and baking and crafting-season?

Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas.  It’s a countdown to the birth of Christ.  It always begins on a Sunday.  This year, the first day of Advent is November 27.  An Advent wreath is a meaningful way to slow down and mark the time approaching Christmas.  It is usually a candle holder with spaces for four candles.  A circle wreath represents eternity.  It reminds us that the child about to be born will eventually die on the cross and then be resurrected to eternal life.  Often people decorate their wreaths with greens from outdoors.  Evergreens are a symbol of the never-ending faithfulness of God. Royal blue candles symbolize the humble baby in the manger who is the King of kings, and the deep, dark midnight that we endure until he comes to us.

On the first Sunday in Advent and all the days following, someone in the family lights one candle in the wreath.  On the second Sunday, two candles are lit, and so on, until all four are lit during the week before Christmas.  As the light grows brighter, the time of Jesus’ birth grows closer.  Even young children can say a traditional Advent greeting as the candles are lit: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

On Christmased.com, I’ll be sharing more specific ways you can celebrate Advent at home each week, tell the Christmas story to your children, and savor the time leading up to December 25.  If you’d like to observe Advent in your home this year, whatever your age or family situation, take some time this week to gather up a circular Advent wreath (or find four candle holders you can arrange in a circle) and candles.  You want them to be tall enough to last for four weeks.

If you have a nativity set, get that out for Advent, too.  Children enjoy hearing and telling the story of Jesus’ birth with all the characters playing their parts.  You can set up the stable and empty manger and bring out the characters one by one to help build anticipation.  If you only have a breakable nativity set and you want to get children involved in this spiritual preparation for Christmas, there are tons of child-friendly and durable nativity sets available.  That cheesy set in the attic with the chipped paint and out-of-proportion shepherds works well for kids, too.

But let’s go back to my trip to the Hallmark store in September.  Why did I get so excited to remember Advent candles before Halloween was even here?  It’s because Advent is about the birth of Jesus.  At the same time, the season helps me focus on Jesus’ promise that he will come back one day.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the demands of children, work, finances, you name it.  Sometimes we get discouraged by what we hear on the news or see in our communities.  Advent helps me to look to God’s faithfulness in the past when Jesus was born for us and to remember that God continues to be faithful today.  The season of Advent also gives me four weeks to focus on God’s promise to make the world right when Jesus returns in glory.  While lighting the candles, I can pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” on behalf of everyone who longs for a better future.

Advent is a time of hope and expectation.  Over the many years I’ve observed Advent as an adult, I’ve always experienced it as a gift.  Lighting the candles and reflecting on what I’m hoping for, how I’m hoping things will be different once Jesus comes to earth, and how I’m hoping for God’s grace to enter my life and the lives of those I love are all a part of Advent for me.

What does Advent look like?  A small light growing stronger and brighter as Christmas draws near.  What does Advent sound like?  My children, my husband and I saying, “Come, Lord Jesus” together as we light the flame.  What does Advent feel like?  It feels like breathing in crisp winter air, breathing in the hope of a Savior, and being filled with God’s peace and grace.

See you again here in a few days for specific ideas for the first Sunday in Advent.  In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your Advent experiences.  What does Advent mean to you?

Paige Evers is a Lutheran pastor, a mom to two young children, and the wife of a Lutheran pastor.  On her first Christmas at one of the congregations she served, she accidentally broke one of the Wise Men.  She thinks that cloth, plastic, and pastor-proof Nativity sets are a really good idea.

Christmased.com readers will be sharing an Advent readalong with short passages from the Bible, selections from the spiritual writer Henri J.M. Nouwen, a prayer, and an Advent Action to help you prepare for the Christ child in your heart.

Categories: Talk Tags: , , , , , , ,
13
Oct 2011

Advent readalong

By 4 Comments

We’ll be doing an Advent readalong starting November 27 (the first Sunday of Advent) with the book Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen. Nouwen was a Dutch priest and professor, and one of my favorite Christian writers. I think one of the things that makes his work so simple and still, and perfect for Advent, is that he suffered from serious depression, so he doesn’t take anything for granted.

The book is based on his writings and each day includes a thought from Nouwen, a short section from the Bible, a prayer, and an action to take that day. We’ll be doing one reading each day during Advent and for each of the twelve days of Christmas.

I hope you’ll join in, whether or not you’ve had any experience with Advent or with doing faith readings before, or whether you even believe in God. It’s six weeks until we start, so you have plenty of time to order the book and get it.

Categories: Advent readalong, Think Tags: , , , , ,