Lessons all around us Leaves don't drop they just let go, And make a place for seeds to grow. Every season brings a change, A seed is what a tree contains, To die and live is life's refrain. ~ “Leaves Don’t Drop” (from The Geography of Light album by Carrie Newcomer) Carrie Newcomer is a poet / folk singer from the Bloomington part of Southern Indiana. Her people know how to watch and learn lessons from the land and here in this song from the trees. They watch the trees bare in the wintertime, budding in the springtime, full-bodied in the summer and they watch the letting go-season in the fall. Midwest people (and maybe all of us) know that so much of life can be learned from watching the trees live through their seasons. Leaves don’t drop, they just let go, making room for seeds to grow. Advent knows of this letting go time. The season invites us to make space for remembering what many have witnessed during the falling leaves of autumn just a few weeks ago. Advent speaks not to emptiness, but to waiting for what’s to come next. What are ways for your marking of this time? Perhaps you can set aside 15 minutes in the morning with a cup of tea or perhaps it’s better for you to light a candle at the end of the day. Or you might already have your best time and place. This Advent season welcomes us into a time of waiting. It's just stopping. You might consider stopping and looking at your hands. These hands that have been holding on for so long, and now are being invited to let go. Try making a fist. Ball them up and squeeze real hard, just for a bit. And then let them go. We are invited to release what needs to be released in these Advent days. Now clasp your hands back together weaving your fingers in and through. Say a prayer for releasing what’s done and for welcoming what’s next. Breath prayer: “welcoming” “what’s next” Prayer: Eternal God of all seasons gather us to you, we pray. Bring us new language and with it a new way of shaping our holding on and letting go. And we are ever grateful. Amen. Now is the Time Now is the time approaching, by prophets long foretold, when all shall dwell together, secure and manifold. Let war be learned no longer, let strife and tumult cease, all earth a blessed garden that God shall tend in peace. ~ “Now Is the Time Approaching” by June Laurie Borthwick In the words of this 19th century hymn we are reminded that waiting is not a passive activity. These Advent days are not hours of checking-out and waiting around, but instead they are days of checking-in in new and renewing ways. Now we are reminded to be fully present in the living of our days. Borthwick’s words continue to instruct us. In her closing verse we hear these inspiring words, “O sweet anticipation! It cheers the watchers on.” Knowing what is happening in the world around us now, as well as in our personal lives; we know how precious these days are. We witness the brokenness and the many fragmented places. And in this hymn, we are reminded again of what we are longing for. The prophets from centuries before us speak to us now. God’s blessed garden tended in peace calls us from our cold December days. This is the day, now is the time. Breath prayer: “blessed” “garden” Prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, call us forth and transform what has always been into what has always been meant to be. Create in us and sustain us in and through, so that we might best serve you in these days and in this work. From this day forth and forevermore. Amen. Season of Hope Everything that is done in the world is done by hope. ~ Martin Luther Winter lends itself to hope. Leaves are no longer on trees and flowers are awaiting the following spring deep underground. Many of us find ourselves bundled up and looking down at the sidewalks, lest we slip on a patch of ice and fall. It is here in these winter days that we are gifted with some of the most beautiful things we will ever see. The bare trees allow us to see their true shapes that are most of the year hidden by leaves. The colors of the sky at sunrise and sunset come only in this season. And because of the deep, darkness we can almost feel the warmth of the lights that are shining. Luther’s words remind us that some of our best work is done without knowing the outcome, but done because the work needs doing. Even before we engage in the task we envision, we dream, we hope it to life. With this hope comes energy and often a focus that surprises, inspires and nudges us. May this Advent season renew in you the beauty and grace of hoping for something. These are days of rekindling our faith journey. Now we are welcomed into seeing beyond what is and what has been these past days. Now we are praying and singing ourselves into all that is yet to be. Breath prayer: “trust” “and have hope” Prayer: God who was, is and who will be renew in us a vision for what is yet to be. Strengthen our weary hearts, too long doubting. Inspire us to see again the beauty of your world, especially in these winter days. Enliven our spirits to your YES this day. And we are ever grateful, Amen. Finding our way On the night of the New Moon we find ourselves face-to-face with our darkest moments. Time and again, because everything feels so very dark, we fear we may be losing our way. My hand is there, I know it. My hand is there right in front of my face, but I just can’t seem to find it. It is here, on the far side of the moon that our core work happens. It is here in this darkest place that you and I can begin to see as if for the first time. Relying on the Moon: Companioning Grief for 29 Days (adapted) by Lesley Brogan New Moon nights come every 29 days in the lunar cycle. They are ever-present, faithful reminders of feeling lost in the darkness. If you’ve ever been outside on a night of the New Moon you know that feeling of trying again and again to open your eyes wider, thinking that will help you see. And sooner or later we all realize that the darkness is with us and we have a few choices: we can learn to make our way in the dark or we find a way to bring light to the darkness. Sometimes we do both. It is in our darkest times that our core work happens. It is here when we are often better aware of what is going on around us. It is here when we can almost hear the beating of our hearts. If we don’t allow fear to overcome us, but instead begin to trust beyond our seeing, it is here in the darkness that we discover the core places of our faith. And in these Advent days we are aware of the gift of light coming. In the New Moon’s pitch darkness, we long for light. Stumbling blindly brings us often to our knees. Starting these Advent days and nights during the New Moon helps us prepare well. In these dark nights, we are well aware of this light, this life that we are seeking. As children of faith on this dark night, we are reminded again of the hope that can come from lighting one candle. We are reminded that the light of one small candle can bring us home. Breath prayer: “even in the darkness” “light is coming” Prayer: Holy Light, guide us this day we pray. Grant us faith to continue even in the darkest moments. Teach us again to watch and pray. Teach us again to trust that light will come and you will guide us on. Humbly we pray, Amen. Let us walk in the light of the Lord Breath prayer: “holy light” “lead me” (while breathing in speak "holy light," and while exhaling speak "lead me") Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob; that we may learn of God’s ways and that we may walk in the paths God sets before us.’ For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! ~ Isaiah 2: 3-5 (full reading 2: 1-5) May we mark this first day of Advent in ways that prepare our hearts and minds, our energy and our focus. This year may we be mindful of the precious gift these days can bring. In these days we are invited to set aside what our patterns have been. Even as our culture pushes and prods us forward to the 25th, may our practice be one of preparation, of intentionality, of welcoming in God’s faithful lovingkindness. What is yearning in you this year? What is calling you to step outside the hustle and bustle and intentionally wait instead? Who are you seeking? What gift awaits you this year? For me I long to breathe. My spirit is weary as I begin these Advent days. And this weariness comes, I’m sorry to say from pushing against the river. Too often in this past year I have been on a merry-go-round and I haven’t been able to find the “off switch.” This Advent season brings this gift: “Stop. Stop and listen and lean into and wait. Just stop.” So now, today, let us begin. Let us walk in the light of God’s presence. May these upcoming days serve as a welcome companion, as a guiding light to all that can bring us renewal and restoration. Come, now is the time to walk in the light of the Lord. Prayer: Ever-loving God, may the yearning of our waiting draw our hearts closer to you. We pray in your holy name, Amen. ~ thank you, Susie for sharing your picture (This is the first of 25 daily meditations for this Advent Season. Each day will have a reading, reflection, breath prayer, one of Susie's pictures and then end with a prayer for the day. I'm glad to send you the first week's readings if you'll email me at lesleybrogan57@gmail.com. The entire series will be available for you to download for a small fee) |
Lesley BroganWorking in Family Experience at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Lesley is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. A Candler School of Theology graduate, Lesley has just published her second book, Grief and the Psalms: Companioning the Moon for 29 Days (available on this website). She and her partner, Linda Ellis are raising their two sons, Brogan and Sam in Decatur, GA. Archives
April 2018
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