Well we are already into week one of the Advent journey and the anticipation is beginning to build as we make our way to Christmas. This Saturday we, here at First, will step back from the hustle and bustle, enter into the land of story and song, and really begin our celebrations.
This is often a difficult time of year despite the air of festivity around us, or perhaps because of it. With so much emphasis on gift giving and family gatherings it can be rather stressful and lonely for many. It is sad really, that this is what the season has become. As people of faith this is a pivotal moment in our journey. It is not about buying until we are broke, or even gathering with family. It is a time of reflection, listening and opening ourselves to the movement of Spirit among us. It is a time to recount the ancient story, hear the voices of the ancestors and make room for the birth of love in our midst. This is the story that, as Christians, provides the foundation for all that is to come. We celebrate the birth of one who would grow in wisdom and truth and eventually make such a mark upon the world that it would never be the same. We are invited to enter into the realm of possibility and promise and empowered to become the light of the world as love is born anew in us.
The Road Will Not Be Easy
With that in mind, I would encourage you to listen carefully this season to the voices of the ancestors.
“And a branch will come forth from the root of Jesse. The spirit will be with him to give understanding, wisdom and insight. He will be powerful and honour all that is good.
He will not judge by appearances or listen to rumours; the poor and the needy will be treated with fairness and with justice.
Leopards will lie down with goats and wolves will rest with lambs. Calves and lions will eat together and be cared for by little children. Cows and bears will share the same pasture, their young will rest side by side.
Little children will play near snake holes and not be harmed. Nothing harmful will take place on the holy mountain. Just as the water fills the sea, the land will be filled with people who know and honour righteousness.” ( Isaiah 11)
Ponder for a moment, the dream they dreamed – a world of justice and equity, of peace and serenity, of possibility and promise. Then open yourself to the signs among you of light and life and ask how you can be the conduit of good news in this time and place.
Where is the star leading you?
What word are the angels singing for you?
What must you leave on the hillsides in order to follow?
Remember that the road will not be always be easy and the way will not always be clearly defined but. if you only step out, take the first step, it can lead to something amazing!
Jan Richardson in “Circles of Grace” writes:
For Those Who Have Far To Travel
If you could see the journey whole, you might never undertake it,
might never dare the first step that propels you from the
place you have known toward the place you know not.
Call it one of the mercies of the road:
that we see it only by stages as it opens before us,
as it comes into our keeping,
step by single step.
There is nothing for it but to go,
and by our going take the vows a pilgrim takes:
to be faithful to the next step;
to rely on more than a map;
to heed the signposts of intuition and dream;
to follow the star that only you will recognize;
to keep an open eye for wonders that attend the path;
to press on beyond distractions, beyond fatigue,
beyond what would tempt you from the way.
There are vows that only you will know:
the secret promises for your particular path
and the new ones you will need to make when the road is revealed
by turns you could not have forseen.
Keep them, break the, make them again;
each promise becomes part of the path,
each choice creates the road that will take you
to the place where, at last, you will kneel
to offer the gift most needed – the gift that only you can give –
before turning to go home by another way
Blessings
Valerie
© 2019 Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury. All rights reserved.