Liturgy 007: Third Monday of Advent

🙏 Collect Prayer

God who comes
not simply to help the vulnerable
but to take on their vulnerability
as incarnate God
in Bethlehem mangers,
and Nazarine villages…

Give me holy eyes
on this “Christmas”
Holiday Monday morning
to see
with compassion and presence
your partiality
towards the weak and the vulnerable
in my own village

that I too might reflect
the light of Christ
into our present world.

Through Christ, our LORD
Amen

📖 Lectio Divina

Read these ancient texts slowly.
Be attentive to what Spirit may be saying to you,
personally and directly, today.

Luke 1:46-55 (Excerpts)

My soul magnifies the LORD…
He has brought down
the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry
with good things,
and sent the rich away
empty.

He has helped his servant.

— Mary

💡 Quote

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody else.
— Chinese Proverb

🧘‍♀️ Reflection

The holiday season is a time of high consumption.

And I’m all for enjoying a good meal with loved ones and expressing affection through the giving of thoughtful gifts. This too can be a spiritual discipline.

But the Advent season — the time of anticipating the arrival of God as revealed by the Hebrew prophets, must be a time of compassion.

When Mary hears about Jesus coming arrival, she sings.

But it’s not exactly a holly jolly tune.

It’s a song about a God who brings down unjust political leaders, and lifts up those who have been forgotten. It’s a God who “sends the rich away empty.”

When Mary’s baby boy becomes a man, to identify the mission of his life, he quotes the prophet Isaiah: God has anointed me to proclaim good news for the poor and the imprisoned.

How might you create space in your world for those in need of compassion, kindness, and presence today? How might you celebrate the arrival of Jesus more in line with the New Testament, in addition to (or as opposed to) our contemporary cultural traditions? How might Christ’s light shine in and through your family this season?

🕊️ Blessing

The Spirit of the LORD has anointed you, as well
to proclaim and embody good news!
May your life be opened up in ways big and small
that the light of Christ might burn in you brightly.

Amen