Daily Advent Reflections

Daily Advent Reflection: December 8

Second Tuesday of Advent

Psalms 26, 28 · 36, 39
Isa. 5:13-17, 24-25
1 Thess. 5:12-28
Luke 21:29-38

Growing up, my family didn’t observe Advent, even though we were Roman Catholic and went to church every Sunday and on the major feast days. We did give up something for Lent, and didn’t eat meat during that time. For Christmas, we put up a nativity set, decorated the house, and went to Christmas services. My brother and I each got a calendar with 24 little slots with a chocolate behind each slot in celebration of the birth of Jesus, but I don’t recall any discussion of Advent during my childhood. As we stopped going to church regularly when I was 14, I was never exposed to Advent as a teenager or adult.

When I was 37, I was feeling lost and, at the suggestion of a friend, I read the Gospels. Much to my surprise, I felt at peace and not alone. I heard the voice of God and felt the Holy Spirit move within me. After visiting a few different churches on Sundays, I eventually joined the Episcopal Church. As December approached during the first year of my attending an Episcopal Church, I learned about the season of Advent. I learned how the weeks before Christmas are meant to be a season of preparation and reflection on the upcoming celebration of the birth of Jesus. This was totally new to me! I remembered the basics of the Nativity Story from my childhood and from the annual viewing of the Peanuts’ Christmas TV program, but I remembered nothing about Advent.

Even after I learned about Advent, I found it very hard to observe the season. I would get a new Advent book each year and start out reading it every day. But inevitably, I would get busy and skip a day, and then another, and I would just give up. 

Between work, home, Christmas shopping, and holiday parties, Advent would fall by the wayside for another year. So Jesus’ teaching in the gospel for today speaks to me in a very direct way. Jesus says, “But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. 

So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36, The Message translation). 

While in this passage Jesus is teaching about the need to be prepared for when He will return, His words are very appropriate for the Advent Season and the anniversary of His birth. We are told to not be distracted by “parties and drinking and shopping,” or the Day will take us by surprise. In the past, I would be so busy with holiday parties, shopping, and the business of everyday life that I would lose sight of the entire point of celebrating Christmas. But now I try to observe Advent by reading an Advent devotional each day before the busy day starts, and by reading from the nativity stories in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Of course, there will be days when I fail to do so. In these cases, I remember Jesus’ words to “Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man”. Then I follow Jesus’ advice and pray, and start my Advent journey anew.

So we can still attend holiday parties (although this year they may be virtual ones) and shop for gifts, but we need to remember what we are celebrating when we do so. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus, God in human form. We are celebrating the fact that God loved us so much that, in spite of our sinful ways, God came to us in human form to redeem us.

I pray you have a blessed Advent season and that God will keep you safe.

The Rev. Bramwell Richards
Zion Episcopal Church, Oconomowoc

Daily Advent Reflection: December 7

Second Monday of Advent

Psalms 25 · 9, 15
Isa. 5:8-12, 18-23
1 Thess. 5:1-11
Luke 21:20-28

“For God did not destine us for wrath, but for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or sleep we may live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up…” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

There is a photo on my desk of my grandmother and I. It was taken when I was three or four years old. In the picture, we are laying together on her living room floor in Sheboygan and we are covered up with a blanket. In my small hands I am holding a book that is open, and Grandma is in the process of turning a page. She is reading to me. This photo speaks to me of love, acceptance, warmth and a sense of home. My childhood years were pretty tumultuous at times, and Grandma was a constant, a ‘rock’ who was always there for me.

As I got older, I learned more about who she was, what mattered to her, and the role that faith played in her life. In her own steady, quiet way she was one who, in the words of today’s reading from 1 Thessalonians, built others up, offering support, assurance, prayers and friendship. She believed in a God of love, forgiveness and mercy, who indeed destined us for salvation in and through Jesus Christ. When I felt called to the priesthood she could not have been more supportive or excited. On the road to ordination, however, there were several rocky moments including but not limited to: admitting an addiction to alcohol and drugs (and seeking help); doing poorly in school; leaving the seminary, and other rough spots as well. Through it all, I was blessed by the love of my primary encourager. In fact, after she left this life and went to be with our heavenly Father, people who attended daily Eucharist with my Grandma back in Sheboygan told me that they knew what was happening in my life based on my Grandma’s petitions during the Prayers of the People! I often think it was partly through her prayers that I have the amazing life I have today. I am both grateful and blessed.

The photo that sits upon Fr. Scott’s desk, as referenced above.

I try to carry some of that encouraging spirit she so abundantly showered upon me. It is one of the ways I try to live my faith in Jesus Christ.

As we continue our Advent journey, I invite you to spend some time today reflecting on the encouragers in your own life. Who are they? Thank God for them, and thank them as well! Also, I invite you to ask God to help you see how God may be wanting to use you as an encourager. How can your loving encouragement of another be a sign to them of God’s grace and love in their lives?

The Rev. Scott Leannah
St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church, Greendale

Daily Advent Reflection: December 6

Second Sunday in Advent

Psalms 148, 149, 150 · 114, 115
Isa. 5:1-7 2 
Pet. 3:11-18 
Luke 7:28-35

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your Name give glory; because of your love and because of your faithfulness. – Psalm 115:1

December and Advent can seem more like a “pre-Christmas” season, than an intentional and separate time, full of prayer and expectant waiting. Today is the second Sunday of Advent, the week that the lone candle is joined by a second, increasing the light they shed in the church and on the kitchen table. The rhythm of lighting the candles, one week at a time, can aid us as we slow down, and redirect our focus from our own efforts to God’s.

Today’s psalm addresses God, and asks that God ensure that the praise goes towards God, rather than towards God’s created beings. Though the psalm addresses God, I think the reminder is geared more towards humans and less towards the God whose love and faithfulness inspire such praise. It’s tempting to see our achievements and accomplishments and ticking-off-our-to-do-lists as reasons to praise ourselves and discount the Lord who made us and walks faithfully by our side. Indeed, three times the psalmist asks the people to trust in God, for “he is their help and their shield.”

The Way of Love Advent Calendar poses the question this day: “What part of gathering for worship fills your heart with hope?” While this might seem an ironic question this year (we are, after all, not physically gathering at this time), my hope comes from the fact that despite the challenges, we are continuing to gather. We continue to trust in the God who is worthy of glory, who is our help and our shield. We remain the church, following Jesus, loving God and one another, and serving as Christ’s hands in the world. After all, as Psalm 115 says: “The heaven of heavens is the Lord's, but he entrusted the earth to its peoples.”

In our rush of shopping, cleaning, organizing and restructuring this year, let’s take comfort in the Good News that Christ is coming. The God who made us and entrusted the earth to us is getting ready to be incarnate among us. So set your plans aside for a day (or even just fifteen minutes). It won’t be perfect because of all your planning and rushing and hurrying. The day that God made and gifts to you will be an opportunity for blessings – both given and received. It will offer us chances to spread God’s love. The day is a gift, entrusted to us by God who is glorified because of God’s love and faithfulness.

Today is also the feast day of Nicholas of Myra, commonly called Santa Claus. We do not know many facts about this 3rd Century Bishop, though there are certainly a plethora of stories and legends associated with this beloved saint. One tradition is of St. Nicholas providing dowries for three young ladies who would have been otherwise unable to marry. Since the gifts were given anonymously, St. Nicholas was given credit for later gifts, given anonymously in love, simply to help care for one another. In the words of James Kiefer, St. Nicholas is the name we give to the giver of an “anonymous gift given to someone whom we do not know, but whom we love anyway because God does.”

We love because God loves us. And God does love us. So as you light your second candle this evening and watch the room grow brighter and warmer in its light, remember to trust in God who is our help and our shield. Our God who is praiseworthy for God’s love and faithfulness. A God who entrusts us with such gifts and delights when we share those gifts in love.

The Rev. Pippa Lindwright
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Dousman