4th Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the 4th Sunday of Advent are:

1. II Samuel 7: 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
2. Psalms 89: 2-3, 4-5, 27, 29
3. Romans 16: 25-27
4. Luke 1: 26-38

• Your legacy
• When I was in my early 20s, and very impressed with myself, I stumbled upon my father at home, sitting still, his shoulders slumped, his head down.  I asked him what was the matter, and he said "I'm not leaving you and your sister much of a legacy."  To this day I really don't know what he had in mind as an adequate legacy, but his was a concern that many of us have.
• What sort of legacy would you like to leave behind?
• How is that coming along?
• How would you live differently if you believed that, at the final judgement, we will all know everything about each other?

• Counting on God
• A dear friend of yours has suffered tragically.  You tell them God is faithful, and they ask you why you believe that.
• What would you say?
• Would that belief change if you started suffering tragic losses?

• Strength for the journey
• Have you ever found unexpected strength in yourself?
• What called that forth?
• Do you think that strength was there all along and you didn't know it?
• Where do you think our strength comes from?
• Why? 

• Pondering versus amazement
• Richard Rohr draws a profound distinction between pondering and what is often translated into "amazement" in the New Testament.
• Pondering takes the events, the feelings, the consequences of the day's events and actions to prayer, and seeks to find God's perspective on these things.  Pondering searches for the meaning of life.
• Amazement is all about knee-jerk reaction - the sort of response that is all about getting your word(s) in edgewise, meaningful or not.
• What things are going on in your life lately that cause you to ponder?
• How do you know when it's time to stop pondering and weigh in with action?
• We all get pelted with things in our lives, should we ponder all of them?  What if we get behind on our pondering?  What happens to us if we die with unpondered aspects of our lives?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to gain strength in humilty?
2. Why do I believe God's promises?
3. Where does my strength come from?
4. What should I be pondering today?

Finding Mercy In Unexpected Places

Snap decisions are so much easier.

Assess the problem, apply the rules,

Job done, what's next?

Asking for the story behind the events,

Pausing to learn who is having the problem,

Hearing more than you wanted to know.

Is often painful,

Always time-consuming,

And doesn't always lead to a better decision anyway.

I like to think that God ponders His decisions,

Weighing options, considering alternatives,

Balancing an infinity of conflicting objectives.

And if I'm patient with that process

My decisions will not necessarily be any better.

But I might be better for the process of making them.

My students, who struggle with deadlines

Because of a sick relative, 

Too many units, too many hours at work ...

I cannot solve their problems.

But I can let them know that they are not alone,

I can bring mercy to a lonely stressed out child of God.

Just knowing that someone else cares

Is sometimes more valuable than a "solution".

Maybe in so doing, I can be Christmas to someone who needs it most.

Shalom!