Graceful Reflections

A novena, from the Latin word for nine, is a series of meditations repeated on nine successive days.  The medieval novena before Christmas was a series of antiphons (short anthems), called the “Great” or “O Antiphons.” These were sung on December 17 – 23, with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day being the last two of the nine days.  In late medieval times the novena started on December 16, and left out December 21, the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle.  At the Council of Trent in the middle of the sixteenth century the Catholic Church reverted to using the antiphons continuously from December 17-23, but the Anglican Church has continued to omit St. Thomas’ Day.  The antiphons all begin with “O:”  “O Wisdom,” “O Lord,” “O Root of Jesse,” “O Key of David,” “O Dayspring,” “O King of the Nations,” and “O Emmanuel.”  Each of the antiphons forms a verse of the hymn, “O come, O come, Emmanuel,” No. 56 in the Hymnal.  According to Catholic usage, December 21’s antiphon is “O Key of David.”  Christopher Smert, who was the Rector of Plymtree and a Vicar-Choral of Exeter Cathedral in 1480, wrote this hymn as a meditation on the antiphon:

 O David, thou noble Key, scepter of the house of Israel,
Throw open the gate and give us way,
Throw open the gate and give us way,
And save us from our [of]fences foul.

 We be in prison; in us have mind, 
And lose us from the bond of sin,
For that thou loosest no man may bind,
For that thou loosest no man may bind,
And that thou loosest no man may bind.

Lord, bow thine ear; to thee we call;
Deliver thou us from wickedness,
And bring us to thy joyful hall,
And bring us to thy joyful hall
Where ever is life without distress.

The original, with its tune, is in a manuscript in the British Library.  The text makes a nice little poem to meditate on for this day of the Christmas novena.

 

John Speller

As I look back at my childhood, I realize just how well my mom kept Christmas.  She always hosted the family Christmas party (for both sides of the family).  It was a well-prepared event, with great cooking, and we had a great time every year.

But what I remember most is the “jackpot” excitement I felt as a child on Christmas mornings.  Mom always had for us an abundance of well-wrapped presents under the tree.  She was careful to make sure we all received the same amount.  She shopped early so that we always got what we wanted.  She stuffed the stockings, and she got us more then we deserved.

As I got a little older (and learned that Mom and Santa were kindred spirits) I began to engage in a behavior that shames me to this day; I snooped around before Christmas and found where Mom hid the presents.  Then, I even went so far as to show them off to my friends—friends who either didn’t get as much, or didn’t even celebrate Christmas.   I was boastful and impatient.  I was vain and greedy.

Advent is about waiting.  It’s about waiting for the birth of Jesus.  Waiting for the Christ child to be born, the baby who will carry our sins—my sins—away:

“Come thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in thee.”

I no longer snoop for presents, I’ve learned to wait.  And at 77, Mom continues to host the family Christmas dinners.  She keeps Christmas well, and now, finally, so do I.

Thomas Manney

 

“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience… Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.”

(Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird)

Rome was not torn down in a day. The Kingdom of God will not come to be all at once. We must call it forth, on earth as it is in heaven, a little at a time. We need hope, and patience. Remember that blessed one who comes in the name of the Lord, that voice calling in the wilderness to make straight the Lord’s paths? This time, it will have to be us, you and me. Don’t give up! With God’s help, the dawn will come.

Bob Lotz

Deer Hunting is a time of waiting. All hunters wait in great anticipation for opening day. To the avid deer hunter the season begins as soon as the first sign of the turning of the leaves, the first frost and the great V in the sky of geese heading south for the winter.  We head for the woods to scout out old hunting grounds and search for new ones.  We build new blinds which we hunt from or refurbish our old ones. Laying out our hunting clothes and checking our ammo and guns.  All in the process of opening day. A time of patience and attention.   We wait and we hope.

Advent is a time of waiting, patience and attention.  We also have a waiting time in our spiritual lives.  We wait for the new life of Christ to come to us.  With the help of the Holy Spirit we open ourselves to the nourishment of grace.  We wait and we hope.  We long for a more Christ- like life, and a better understanding and relationship with God and others.  We wait and we hope. With prayers, the sacraments and good works will make our waiting fruitful.

Just what are we waiting for?  The reason for the season?  Is it Jesus?  Is it the hustle and bustle of the annual holiday season?  Its easy to get all wrapped up in the most wonderful of time of the year.  Advent marks the beginning of our church year.  Anticipating the new birth of our Savior but also a new life within ourselves.  Advent is a time to reflect on our present day life and listen to any call God might be sending us.  A change in our daily lives.  Perhaps to walk more closely with God.  To deepen our relationship with Him and with those around us.

The Gospel of Mark (13: 33-37) teaches us always to be ready and to be on watch for Jesus return.  Advent is a time for us to reflect on our own state of affairs.  Are we truly ready?  Are we really prepared?  If Jesus came back today would you be ready?

David Muehlmann

WAITING, EXPECTING

Nine months.  It seems like such a long, long time.  As a mother, it was such an exciting time, and a little scary, especially the first time.  But always the joy and wonder at what was growing inside me.  As a grandmother, more concern during the long wait,and more worry at the end as I was just an observer not making the decisions.  Mary had those same nine months of waiting and expectation.  What a strange and different wait hers was.  No one had ever had the experience she had had.  No other woman could comfort her with their stories of a similar pregnancy.  What a brave step out in faith she made by saying “let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).  Her joy and wonder were very different and unique from that of any other woman.  Waiting, expecting, fearing, longing, anticipating, thrilling.  We know how the story ends, but Mary certainly didn’t.  I wonder what I would say if visited by an angel?

 

Mary Gale McPharlin

 

In keeping with the preparatory nature of Advent, the readings for yesterday, (Sunday 15 Dec) and today present an instructive illustration of the necessary steps.

Yesterday’s readings give an encouraging and uplifting description of the gifts and goodness of God. Today’s readings show the other side of the coin, in that they describe the necessary steps to earn these gifts..

Psalm 44 vv 1-8 detail the gifts that God has given in the past, (“…for not by their own sword did they win the land”), but vv 9-26 describe the more recent misfortunes that God has sent their way, (“You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations”) ending with an astonishing few verses requesting, (almost demanding) favorable assistance (“Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

Revelation 3:7-13 softens this message somewhat in that it gives a sharp warning to those who are out of line, (“…those of the synagogue of Satan…I will make them come and bow down before your feet), but reassurance to the faithful (“…hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown”).

Matthew 24:15-31 emphasizes the two sides of the coin. Vv 15-29 describe the fate of the unfaithful in graphic terms (“For at that time there will be great suffering”), but ends (VV 30-31) with a dramatic and astonishingly prescient assurance that Jesus will come in glory to save the faithful. (“…they will gather his elect from the four winds).

The balance of these two aspects of God’s nature can help us to obtain the desired “right relationship with God”

  John Hickman

Isaiah 35: 1-10

This is the time of year when some of us write and all of us receive Christmas letters. They recount the events of the year, usually emphasizing the positive and hopeful and underplaying the disappointing.

For many people, the cheeriness of this time of year feels hollow, we look back on events of the year are not as victories and triumphs but struggles in daily living: junior scraped through his freshman year at college and we hope he’s learned he needs to knuckle down and work harder, Dad’s PSA is up and we’re worried that his prostate cancer has returned, we managed to put a little more in savings this year, the cat died and so vacuuming the carpets is easier, we’re both still employed but have years until retirement and wonder if we can afford to go away for vacation this year.

Our Christmas letters look backwards, Advent as a season invites us to look forwards. Isaiah looks to a time when God will restore all things – the desert shall blossom, the blind will see, the lame will leap like a dear and the burning sand will become a pool of water and the redeemed of the Lord shall return joyfully to Zion – which is a way of saying that all God’s people shall be united. There will be a way through the wilderness so obvious that all can follow it, even fools. For Isaiah this image is like a beacon to travel towards, a future hope which keeps God’s people waking up in the morning every day, determined one day at a time to live as God calls them to live, to endure what must be endured.

 

Lydia Agnew Speller

 

Preparing for my daughter’s wedding, with all the bustling about, the lists, making food, buying new clothes and wanting it to be the “perfect” day for everyone involved is in so many ways the way we prepare for Christmas.  And in our effort to be “perfect” we often lose sight of what the end result is.  Weddings will happen whether they are perfect or not, just as Christmas will happen whether it has all the trappings or not.

As I watched her walk up the aisle to her awaiting groom, I think of the anticipation we all feel as we await the coming Christ child.

As the two of them sat across the church facing each other with tears of joy streaming down their faces, we too should have those tears of joy when we finally reach the day when Christ is reborn each year.

 

Maureen Porada

 

 

Preparing for my daughter’s wedding, with all the bustling about, the lists, making food, buying new clothes and wanting it to be the “perfect” day for everyone involved is in so many ways the way we prepare for Christmas.  And in our effort to be “perfect” we often lose sight of what the end result is.  Weddings will happen whether they are perfect or not, just as Christmas will happen whether it has all the trappings or not.

As I watched her walk up the aisle to her awaiting groom, I think of the anticipation we all feel as we await the coming Christ child.

As the two of them sat across the church facing each other with tears of joy streaming down their faces, we too should have those tears of joy when we finally reach the day when Christ is reborn each year.

 

Maureen Porada

 

 

Preparation

A singer first warms up and takes a breath before beginning to sing.

A cook has his mise-en-place of everything he needs before he starts to cook.

A painter prepares the wall, filling cracks and sanding smooth, etc. before painting.

All these people know that the right preparation produces a better result.

Christmas is coming! Jesus is coming!  Are we prepared to receive Him?

Yes, there’s a lot of excitement, but are we focused on the right things?

We’ve bought a tree and decorated it, bought the presents and wrapped them,  gone to parties and prepared special meals; but Christmas is much more than this.

To be ready to receive the baby Jesus into our hearts and minds, we must clear ourselves of all the extraneous clutter that surrounds the season and concentrate on the joyful anticipation of His coming.

Watch and pray!  Give thanks to God for His love in sending His Son to us. Life has so much more meaning and joy when we truly take Jesus into our hearts and live with Him.

Advent is the great season of anticipation of which the climax is the coming of Jesus.

Jesus is not just a season;  He is all of life!

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

 

Dorothy Hickman