Advent

December 17, 2013

Posted by

0

There is a prayer, written as a poem, in today’s box.

Change my heart oh God,

Make it ever true,

Change my heart, oh God,

May I be like you.

You are the potter,

I am the clay,

Mold me and make me,

This is what I pray.

The poem is surrounded by images of people formed from plasticine.  In the background is a photograph of clay on a wheel in a potter’s hands.  This is the scripture verse for inspiration:

Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

Here’s the box:

Image

What does it mean to be formed by God?  If we are all made in the image of God, can we see the beauty in each one?  Can we live as if it is true.  Can every human glimpse that in one another?

In a world where there is so much emphasis on a particular perception of beauty, we need that prayer and that vision.  We need new eyes for seeing and new hearts for loving.

Maybe, just maybe, the world can be transformed if we can truly care about one another.

The candles of hope, peace and joy continue to light our way.

December 9, 2013

Posted by

1

…and there, ahead of them,

went the star that they had seen at it’s rising,

until it stopped over the place where the child was.

Matthew 2:9b

Image

The star leads travellers to the birth of the Christ child.  In this box is the scene of a moment of gathering.  The star is tucked along the back, proclaiming the glory from afar.  This scene has the angel too, and shepherds and sheep.  It is a coming together moment, a moment of hope and peace.

In much of today’s world it is difficult to see the stars.  You have to be away from a city.  You have to be away from the ‘light pollution’ to really be able to experience the darkness of night in which the stars can shine.  Seeing the stars is a novelty for many, we prefer the safety and security of the nighttime artificial light for our paths.

Maybe that’s part of what we have lost.  By making the cities and beyond safer with night lights, we have lost the mystery and the wonder of the guiding light of the stars.  Maybe the light of a star could invite us to gather and to know the true gift of life.

ahead of them went the star…

December 8, 2013

Posted by

0

We were back at church today to open Advent Box 8.  It was the church community in the church building, and there was an air of excitement about this time.  The children took the lead again.  There were many hands to hold the box, many hands to open the box and a young voice to read the scripture.  

When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honour them. Psalm 91:15

Image

 

Threatening clouds in a dark sky.  Big waves.  A small boat.  A lighthouse.  Rocks.  Lightening.  There was lots to see and name.

After the naming was complete, children carried the box through the congregation for all to see.  It was precious cargo in young arms.  It was a message from God.  It was a promise.  It was hope and peace.  It was another step on the advent journey of waiting.

 

December 6, 2013

Posted by

1

There is an extra text tucked into the box for today.  The first one is the scripture reading:  The grass withers, the flowers fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.  Isaiah 40:8

Image

The second is a note of explanation of the box: ‘The copies of the Bible are from Grandma’s Bible presented to her in 1933 for 10 years of perfect attendance at Chalmers United.’

Image

I am sure that the makers of this box are not the only ones with inherited Bible treasures.  In our house there are inherited Bible treasures in languages other than English that we cannot read.  We hold them dearly as a connection to the generations past that gave us the foundations for our life.

Chalmers United Church closed in 1977.  It amalgamated with Greenwood United Church and became the congregation of McClure United.

The church is forever in a state of flux and evolution.  Even those things that we expect to be around forever change and find new uses.  Church buildings seem to come and go within communities, but the mystery of faith, the connection to God’s word seems to withstand all that.  Perhaps it is because God’s word comes to new life in our living.

We are called to live love and justice.  We are called to remember and to work for peace.

Perhaps on this day, December 6, when we light a candle remembering the women massacred in Montreal in 1989, when we light a candle remembering the leadership of Nelson Mandela, we can pause and remember even more deeply the faith of our forebears that light our path today.

May the world know hope and peace.

December 5, 2013

Posted by

1

What is your image of the wilderness?

Today’s Advent Box invites us to reflect on a desert wilderness.

Image

 

The reading is from Isaiah 40:3.  A voice cries out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

How much do we hunger for a clear path ahead of us?  How much do we long for food for the hungry, justice for the oppressed, water for the thirsty…?  

We are invited to prepare the way for God, maybe we clear the path one step at a time, working for that for which we long.

Advent hope continues…