3rd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday in Advent are:

1. Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10
2. Psalms 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10
3. James 5: 7-10
4. Matthew 11: 2-12

• The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself
• I wasn't born until well after the Great Depression, but I try to imagine myself, huddled against the cold of another winter with hardly enough money to keep boiled cabbage on the table, listening to President Roosevelt on the radio in the evening, and feeling deep down that I, my family, our community was not alone in this, that we were far from abandoned, that poverty and uncertainty were not all that life held for us.
• What do you fear most?  For me, I fear not aging gracefully.  I'm not likely to try to clutch at silly artifacts of years gone by.  I'm afraid that, as I shed one thing after another, I'll be slow to realize I really don't control nearly as much about my life as I think.
• Do you ever talk to God, or anyone else about those fears?
• What might you say to someone else who has your fears? 

• Howdy stranger
• The stranger lives a rough life.  No one can vouch for them, no one knows whether we can trust the stranger in our midst, and frankly, we're inclined to assume the worst until events prove us wrong.
• Have you ever been in a circumstance where you were a stranger to everyone there?
• How did you get over/past that feeling?
• How was God present to you in that process?
• How can you be God's presence to others going through that process?

• Pray like a farmer
• Farming, like no other human endeavor, reminds us that we are not in control.  All it takes is unseasonable weather, a blight, a tornado, and that year's crop is done.  At some point, no matter how hard a farmer works, they have to rely on God for the rest.
• Who are some of the folks that you rely on to help you in the really important tasks in your life?
• How do you thank them for all of the support that they give you?
• How do you know that you can count on them?
• How do they know that they can count on you?

• By their fruits you will know them
• All of us are called to be healers.  Maybe not anything splashy, but those who reconcile none the less.
• Can you think of a time when someone else was a healing presence in your life?
• Where are you "good news" to others?
• Is there anyone in your life who could benefit from more of that "good news" that God offers through you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. When will I be willing to part with my fears?
2. How am I hospitable to others who are not like me?
3. Where do I need to give up being in control?
4. What fruit am I nourishing in my life?

Merry Advent!