Sunday, November 20, 2016

First Sunday of Advent

Our readings for 1st Sunday of Advent are:
  1. Isaiah 2: 1-5
  2. Psalm 122:1-2,3-4,4-5,6-7,8-9
  3. Romans 13: 11-14
  4. Matthew 24: 37-44
  • I'd like to give you a piece of my peace of mind
    • How do you see God bringing about peace in the world today?
    • How can we as a Church, a parish, a family help bring that sort of peace about?
    • How much peace can we really hold ourselves responsible for in this life?
  • Praying for those who don't deserve it
    • Have you ever felt that you were wasting your time praying about something or someone?
    • Maybe you thought that your prayers for the impossible to happen would be better spent elsewhere.  Maybe you thought it silly to raise your hopes for the inconceivable, maybe you weren't even sure that was what God wanted.  But what if you're wrong on all of those counts?
    • Where do we find hope?
    • Where do we find the courage to hope?
  • Making it Simple
    • Many of us want to simplify our lives, shed that which is not doing us any good.  Perhaps cleaning out the garage is traumatic, but ridding ourselves of petty vices that seem almost endearing is sort of like cleaning the hull of a ship, one barnacle at a time.
    • How can we become more sensitive to the impact that we have on others who are close to us?
    • How can we become more honest with each other about things that hurt us?
    • How can we become more authentic with each other?
  • Making peace in odd places
    • Where do you think that we most need peace in this world?
    • What do you think it is to be a peace maker?
    • What sort of credentials does such a person need?
    • How can you be a peace maker, even if in small ways?
Preparation for Reconciliation:
  1. What am I doing to become a better peace maker?  Not just a peace keeper, but a peace maker?
  2. Do I have the courage to ask for courage?
  3. Is there anything in my life that I'm am not willing to give up in the face of God's call?
  4. What can I do this week to bring peace to a specific situation around me?
Where to find Peace
Peace starts with trust.
Trust is build on humility.
For only humility is able to see clearly what I don't see,
Squarely face the limits of my understanding, my vision, my hope, and know there is much more.

Humility whispers to me that the cosmos is other centered,
And Humility clasps my hand and whispers that it's OK that I'm not the center.
A sprig of trust breaks through the snow and ice of my fear.
Gently spreads its leaves looking for the sunshine of indifference.

Indifference to whether my will be done,
Indifference that stills the screams of my apprehensions  and distress
Realizes that God's will not only is best,
But that it's best for me, no matter how much of a surprise that is.

And in the eye of the hurricane of my life,
With change swirling all around loudly and fiercely,
That indifference gives me space to hear the still small voice of God,
And I'm able to move in that eye of the storm, and find peace knowing I'm where I belong.

The trick is to ever be willing to leave a place
In favor of the next horizon that God is dwelling in
Following the Tabernacle wherever it might lead
Across uncharted deserts of newness and life amidst the burning sands of doubt and fear.

Shalom!

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