Scripture Reflection for Dec. 31, 2011

I found this reflection from 2002 and they are the same readings for today.  I wanted to share them with all of you.  For us 2011 was filled with much grief and sorrow but never without Hope of what is to come.  Praying that 2012 is filled with every blessing and thank you for sustaining our family through prayer, love, and support.

1 John 2:18-21 ~ Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13 ~ John 1:1-18

“But you have the anointing of the Holy One, so that all knowledge is yours. My reason for having written you is not that you do not know the truth but that you do.” 1 John 2: 20-21

This letter takes aim at a philosophy known as Gnosticism. While taking many different forms, a basic teaching of Gnosticism was that all matter was evil and that the body was a prison from which the spirit must be released. Through attaining elaborate and special advanced knowledge this release could be achieved. Those who had such “higher knowledge’ thought of themselves as the only truly spiritual ones. They looked disparagingly on those whose occupation with daily life left no time or discipline to attain this knowledge and believed these others could never experience true religion or attain spiritual maturity. The author assures the community that the humblest, least educated Christian need not feel inferior to the most learned. All are anointed with knowledge of the truth. The essentials of the faith are available to all. What is needed is to understand these truths more fully and more effectively putting them into practice in our lives.

I thank you, Holy One, that you have made so freely known those things that lead to salvation and life.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

Below is a reflection Dad wrote for Christmas Day one year.  Praying all of you have a most blessed Christmas with your family and friends. 

Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6), Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6), Lamb of God (John 1:29), Author of Life (Acts 3:15), Word of Life (1 John 1:1), Author and Finisher of Our Faith (Hebrews 12:2), Advocate (1 John 2:1), The Way (John 14:6), Dayspring (Luke 1:78), I Am (John 8:58), Son of God (John 1:34), Messiah (John 1:41), The Truth (John 14:6), Savior (Titus 3: 6), Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), King of Kings (Revelation 19:16), Light of the World (John 8:12), Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22), Morning Star (Revelation 22:16), Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4), Resurrection and Life (John 11:25), Horn of Salvation (Luke 1:69), The Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8). Jesus, whose birth we celebrate this day, cannot be exhausted in just one word or phrase.  Let these names or titles sink into your mind and heart. Keep them with you; reflect on them, letting Jesus be born anew in you.

Emmanuel, God-with-us, I give you my heart today as a place for you to rest.

O Antiphon: O Emmanuel (The Last day of Advent)

Dad loved praising the Lord and I know still does, so maybe I should change the sentence. Dad loves praising the Lord.  I remember being little, standing next to Dad at prayer meetings (tugging on his shirt -- bugging him) while he was saying litanys of names of Jesus, "You are the Holy One, you are the Alpha and the Omega, you are Emmanuel -- God with us."

Out of all the Antiphon's shared this week this one is the one that reminds me most of Dad and of what he on earth shared with all those he met; that God is truly with us everyday. He is not far off on some cloud looking down but in our hearts as we are in His.

Ceci asked me one day, "Mommy where is Jesus right now?"  I was in the car with both the kids buckled into their booster seats in the back.  I said, "Right there sitting in the middle seat between you and Mary-Clare.  She looked over and said, "Really Mommy?"  My response, "Yes Ceci, even though we can't see Him he is with us ALWAYS."  Yet another amazing gift Dad gave to me and I know to many of you...

On this last day of Advent I pray you have a day filled with peace knowing that Our God is with us. 

O Emmanuel

Isaiah 7:1-8:10; Matthew 1:18-25

December 23

O Emmanuel, our King and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior:  Come and save us, O Lord our God.

³God helps those who help themselves.²  It sounds biblical.  Some people think it comes from the Bible, but it doesn¹t.  It¹s actually unbiblical, even anti-biblical.  God helps the helpless, those who cannot help themselves.  God saves those who cannot save themselves.

We confess this in one of our liturgies of confession.  ³We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.²  If God helps only those who help themselves, then we are in a heap of trouble, because when it comes to sin we are powerless to help ourselves.  Prisoners can do nothing to free themselves.  God must come to us to help us.  He must reach down to us, we cannot reach up to Him.  God must come and be with us.

The promise of this last night of Advent is the promise of Immanuel - God is with us.  Immanuel was the word-sign spoken by Isaiah to a panicky king.  Ahaz¹s enemies had struck an alliance.  Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel had struck a deal.  Ahaz was the odd man out.  He cut a deal of his own with Tiglath Pileser, the king of Assyria.  That would prove to be Ahaz¹s undoing.  Assyria would be like a flooded river pouring over its banks, sweeping away Judah in the process.

Isaiah tried to warn Ahaz, and encourage him that God was with Him.  ³Rezin and Pekah are nothing but smoldering stumps under the foot of God¹s judgment.  They have a plan but it will not stand and will not come to pass.  You must trust Yahweh; take Him at His word.  But if you will not believe, surely, you will not be established.²  Isaiah offered a sign to Ahaz, though Ahaz refused.  It was the sign of Immanuel.  ³The virgin is conceiving and bearing a son and shall call his name Immanuel.²  In nine months Ahaz would know that God was with them.  In ten to twelve years, before Immanuel knows right from wrong, Rezin and Pekah would be history.  Immanuel would eat curds and honey.  Good and bad news rolled into one.  Agricultural land would be laid waste.  Crops destroyed.  But there would still be plenty of milk and wild honey.  Wilderness food.  It is back to the wilderness for God¹s people.  But God is with them.

Isaiah had a son.  His name, written in stone on a large tablet was:  Maher-shalal-hash-baz.  ³The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.²  Destruction is at the door.  There are always two sides to God¹s being with us - destruction and salvation.  Immanuel and Maher-shalal-hash-baz.  He is with us to save, and He is with us to destroy whatever gets in the way of His saving us. When we pray ³Thy will be done,² we call upon God¹s good and gracious will to save us. We are also calling Him to break and hinder every will that opposes his good and gracious will, including our own.  The Lord kills in order to make alive.  He brings down in order to raise up.  He crushes in order to create anew.

God¹s last word is not death, but life.  Not Maher-shalal-hash-baz, but Immanuel.  ³The Lord is with you,² the angel said to Mary.  And the Virgin conceived and bore a son.  Jesus.  Immanuel.  God with us.  The fulness of God dwelling in a human body.  True God and true man in one Person. The Word made flesh, living among us.

God has drawn near to us in His Son Jesus.  No longer may we speak of God way out there somewhere or way up there in heaven.  He is Immanuel, God with us.  He is the God who gets involved.  The God who puts on the uniform and plays the game.  He doesn¹t sit by watching us make a mess of things.  He doesn¹t watch helplessly from his throne heaven while we destroy each other here on earth.  He sets down his crown, takes off his royal robes, puts on the workclothes of a servant.  He takes on our humanity.  And in our humanity He humbles himself to death on a cross.  Immanuel works and weeps and suffers and sleeps and bleeds and dies.  He is with us in every facet of our lives.  Nothing is left out of His being with us to save us.

The signs of Immanuel are all around us.  Advent calls us to them and invites us to see them anew.  Where is God with you to save you?  In the water of your Baptism.   There He is with you to make you His own - the Spirit descending, the voice of the Father, Jesus at your side, with you always to the end of the age.  You are joined to Jesus¹ death in Baptism, and He is joined to you.

He is with you in the word that speaks forgiveness to you.  ³He who hears you, hears me,² Jesus said of those He sent.  ³Do you believe that my forgiveness is God¹s forgiveness,² the pastor asks the penitent.  That is the Immanuel question.  Do you believe that God is with us in this?  To hear this forgiveness as God¹s forgiveness?  Such a gift Immanuel is to arrange to speak with us in a way that we can hear Him!

He is with you in His Supper, His very body and blood, born of Mary, sacrificed on Calvary, raised from the dead, enthroned in heaven yet humbly mangered in bread and wine for you.  There is no greater His being Immanuel for you than for you to eat His body and drink His blood.

Jesus is Immanuel, the only Immanuel there ever was, the only one there ever will be.  When He appears in glory, He will be the same Immanuel who came by the Virgin, who laid in a manger, who died for you on the cross, who come to you now in His Baptism, Word, and Supper.  The good news, on this last night of Advent, is that you are never alone as one of the Lord¹s baptized believers.  God is with you.  Immanuel.

O Antiphon: O King of Nations

O King of Nations

Zechariah 9:9-10; 1 Peter 2:4-6

December 22

O King of nations, the ruler they long for, the cornerstone uniting all people:  Come and save us all, whom you formed out of clay.

Jesus is both King and Cornerstone.  As King he governs by His gracious reign of forgiveness and peace as King of kings.  As Cornerstone He sets all the angles square and unites His church together as one.

He is the potter, we are the clay.  He is the King, we are His subjects.  He is the Cornerstone, we are living stones built into a temple for His Name.  We want this, and then again, we don¹t want it.  The sinful nature resents the potter, refuses the king, resists the cornerstone.  Sin is the overthrow of God¹s reign, the attempt to be a god in place of God.  It is the rebellion of the clay against the potter who shaped it.  It is our attempt to determine the lines of our future and destiny, to be our own cornerstone.

The outcome is chaos and death.  A kingdom in which everyone is king is not a kingdom at all.  It is anarchy.  A building in which every stone is the cornerstone is a pile of rock.  Individualism ends in isolation.  It is death to family, to community.  It was not good that man was alone.  God put us into community.  Sin erects walls, both visible and invisible, barriers to community.  We define the boundaries of our own little kingdoms and vow to defend them to the death.

Christ has come as King and Cornerstone.  His coming was without the trappings of royalty.  A virgin mother.  A manger crib.  He rode atop a donkey to his death.  He wore the purple robes of royalty only as He was mocked.  His crown was made of thorns.  His throne was a cross.  He is a beggar king in a kingdom of beggars.

The crucified King is the King of kings.  The rejected stone is the cornerstone.

O Antiphon: O Dayspring!

O Dayspring

Isaiah 9:1-7; Malachi 4:2; Revelation 22:16

December 21

O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting:  Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Today is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.  And the longest night.  Though it is the darkest day, the Advent candles burn brightly.  The church calls from the darkness to her Lord, the Dayspring from on high, who is ³the joyous light of glory.²

God is light, and in Him there is no darkness.  God spoke light into the darkness.  Light means life.  Without light there is no life.  Darkness is death, the silence of God, the absence of God.

Our sin plunged the creation into darkness and death.  Sin loves the darkness and hates the light.  Sin loves the death and hates the life.  Man turned away from God hides in the darkness.  Adam hid in the darkness of the trees.  Judas betrayed his Lord at night.  Sin seeks shelter under the cover of darkness.  Darkness cannot produce light.  It is nothing, formless and void, empty.  Light must be spoken into darkness from the outside.

God sent His Son, the light of the world thrown into darkness.  He is the light no darkness can overcome, the light of God¹s love, His promise of mercy.  ³The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.²  Jesus is the Morning Star, the Dayspring, the signal of the coming morning.  Day is at hand.  The Dayspring has risen.  The sun of righteousness rises with healing in His wings.  He was born in darkness that we might be reborn as children of the light.  He died in darkness that we might live in the light of His life.  He rose at dawn to usher in the new day of His resurrection.  He shines into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who works through the Word, dispelling the darkness, killing the death, bringing light and life.

Advent calls us out of the darkness to live in the light of Christ, to be the children of the Light that we are.  ³If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.²  The night is over.  The Day has dawned.  Christ has risen from the dead.  He has cast the bright beams of His light upon you. 

Flee the darkness.  Confess your sin.  Expose the darkness, the death, to His light.  Cling to the light of His Word.  Live in the warm brightness of His Light.  ³You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.²

O Antiphons, O Key of David

When I read this one I thought of Dad a lot because his name is David, as you all know.  In the last line of this reflection Dad says, "Advent disciplines us in the discipline of being forgiven, of living in the freedom of forgiveness, of delighting in the Key of David that unlocks us from our sin." 

Words for all of us to chew on and reflect.  I know that Dad was writing this reflection for himself just as much as for all of us. God's mercy is ABUNDANT AND FOREVER. 

O Key of David

Isaiah 22:15-25; Matthew 16:13-20

December 20

O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no one can close, you close and no one can open:  Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death.

Keys are authority.  The one who has the keys has authority.  Shebna was King Hezekiah¹s chief-of-staff.  He held the keys to the palace.  He misused his authority by having his tomb carved where kings were buried and to enrich himself at his master¹s expense.  The servant wanted to be king.  And so he was stripped of his office, and Eliakim was called to replace him.  Shebna had to turn in his keys.  It¹s a dire warning to all who hold authority not to use it for personal profit.

God used this little bit of palace power politics to prophesy something greater:  ³I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.²  Those words are applied to Christ in the Revelation.  He is the one ³who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.²

Sin locks the doors on us.  It makes our lives a prison house of fear.  Like the disciples in the upper room on Easter evening, we are locked up into ourselves, locked away from others.  We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.  No matter how much we struggle against the chains and rattle the bars, we are unable to break out of the prison.

But Christ has come and entered the prison house.  He took on the Law¹s death sentence.  He stormed the gates of death and hell with His death.  He turns the key to our prison cell.  He is the key, the key that unlocks us from the Law and breaks the chains of death that bind us in fear. He sets us free to live as free children in His free city.

Jesus is the key of David, who opens and no one can close, who closes and no one can open.  And He entrusts the keys to His church, to bind and loose from sin in His name.  He established the office of the keys in the church, that is, the office of the ministry.  That is the office that turns the keys which bind and loose.  We don¹t have to wonder where the keys to heaven are.  They are in the mouth of Peter and of the pastor God has called and ordained to speak forgiveness to you.  His mouth is the Lord¹s mouth to forgive you.  The sins he forgives are forgiven; the sins he retains are retained.  He turns the key that unbinds you from your sin and frees you.  He does it no on his own authority, but by the permission of the One who is the Key of David.

Advent disciplines us in the discipline of being forgiven, of living in the freedom of forgiveness, of delighting in the Key of David that unlocks us from our sin.

O Antiphon: O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse

Isaiah 11:1-16 / Revelation 22:16

December 19

O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage; Come quickly to deliver us.

³In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.²  Leave it to the Lord to make an unsightly root his banner, the flag at which all kings will be silent and all nations will bow.  Roots are best left unseen, underground, invisibly drawing up nutrients from the soil, feeding the branches which produce leaves and fruit.  Expose the root and the whole tree dies.  But cut down the tree even to a stump and it will return, as long as the root is alive.

The Root of Jesse is God¹s Promise that David¹s throne would stand forever. That a son of David would establish his kingdom and sit on his throne.  That promise is the root of Israel.  Even when the tree was cut down, when Israel was reduced to a lifeless stump, the promise lived.  ³Then shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.²

Our sin goes all the way to the root.  Not only the fruit, but the whole tree is bad, roots and all.  The axe of the Law must be laid to the root.  We must die and rise anew.  It¹s the only way to save us.  We must be grafted to new rootstock.  We must be joined to the stump of Jesse, fed by the Root of Jesse, nourished by the Promise of God to save.

God grafted His Root to our sin, nailing it to a cross.  The Root of Jesse became a banner for the world to see.  Jesus of Nazareth.  David¹s son, David¹s root, David¹s Lord.  ³"I am the root and offspring of David,²  Jesus said.  The last of His I AMs.  He is both David¹s root and David¹s son.  He was lifted up on the tree of the cross, a banner for the nations to see.  As Moses lifted up the bronze serpant in the wilderness as an emblem of healing, so the Root of Jesse was lifted up the cross.  Here is how God saves from sin and death.  He sets the axe of the Law against His own Root, His Son, and then joins you to His death.  The cross is the meeting place of God and man, Law and Gospel, wrath and mercy.  There the Root takes up your sin.  There He feeds you His righteousness.

You were grafted to the Root of Jesse in Baptism.  Don¹t let the graft dry out; always keep it immersed in baptismal water.  Draw on His forgiveness, His life, His salvation.  You are living branches grafted to the living Root of Jesse. Jesus is your Vine and your Root.   Apart from Him you can do nothing.  Joined to Him, believing in Him, you will bear much fruit.

Wait patiently on this Root of Jesse.  He is the source of your life, who now feeds and forgives you, who nourishes and sustains you, and who will come to raise you.

O Antiphons!

What of the things Dad loved about Advent was being able to meditate upon the O Antiphons.
He did reflections for them from Dec. 17th - Dec. 23rd in another document I found.
I am one day behind so I am going to share the Dec. 17th and 18th reflections in this post and then one per day over the next few days.

Enjoy them, say them out loud, share them with your family or maybe make up your own antiphon for the Lord!

O Wisdom

December 17

Proverbs 8; 1 Corinthians 1;18-31

O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things:  Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Wisdom is God¹s spokeman, the One who speaks the truth about God from the mouth of God.  By wisdom the simple gain prudence, and the foolish gain understanding.  Wisdom is more precious than jewels; wisdom¹s gifts are worth more than gold.  Wisdom is a gift from God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  Wisdom is knowledge and understanding shaped by the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Wisdom left its mark on the created order.  Through Wisdom all things were created.  Wisdom was with God before all things, and through Wisdom all things were made.  The beauty of the stars, the splendor of the seas, the marvelous variety of birds and fishes, the intricacies of a DNA double-helix, the mystery of distant galaxies.  These are Wisdom¹s fingerprints.  Science studies the fingerprints, but fails to see the hand.  That must be perceived by faith.

Man turned away from God seeks knowledge without the fear of God.  Information and facts.  Study the creation without knowing the Creator.  Worship the creature instead of the Creator.  ³You can be like God,² said the original Lie.  ³You can have knowledge without God.  Just reach in for yourself and grab it.²  That is not the way of Wisdom but Folly, foolishness, unbelief.  ³The fool says in his heart there is no God.²  The end of Folly is death.

Jesus Christ is Wisdom incarnate, wisdom in the flesh.  He is the ³power of God and the wisdom of God.²  ³He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  He reflects the very glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.²  He is the ³glue² that holds the universe together.  Your cells, your DNA, a table, a chair - they hold together by the power of His word.  It¹s what the scientists search for and long to find.  The ordering wisdom of the universe.  He is Jesus Christ - the One born in Bethlehem who hung on a cross and rose from the dead.

He teaches us the way of prudence, the way of Wisdom that leads to life.  That way is the way of the cross, of dying and rising, repentance and faith.  This way is foolishness to the wordly-wise, yet to those made wise through His Word and Spirit, it is God¹s creative wisdom to save.  He will come to raise us one day.  And then you who are wise in Him will shine as the brightness of the heavens.

O Adonai

Exodus 3:1-15 / Philippians 2:5-11

December 18

O Adonai and ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai:  Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.

Adonai is Hebrew for Lord.  Lord is the substitute term for Yahweh, the sacred, saving, Gospel name of God.  ³Say this to the people of Israel, Yahweh the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.¹²  This is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.²  To say Adonai is to say Yahweh, the Name that saves.

³Whom shall I say sent me?  What is His Name?²   To have the Name of God is to have God Himself.  ³Tell them Ehyeh asher ehyeh sent you.²  I am who I am.  Ehyeh.  I AM.  YHWH.  He is the One who is.  The God whose saving Name is a verb.  His Name is action.

Every day, in the morning and in the evening, the Name of the Lord was proclaimed:

Shema Israel, Adonai eluhenu, Adonai echad.  Hear O Israel, YHWH our God, YHWH alone.  There is none other like YHWH.

Where God¹s Name is, there He holy ground.  The Lord is present.  Where His Name is, there is Gospel fire, fire that burns but does not consume.  His burning love and passion to save.  Where His Name is, there He is mighty to save.  ³I am YHWH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am Yahweh, your God.²

³Hail, O favored one, YHWH is with you,² the angel said to Mary.  ³You will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, Y¹shua.  YHWH is salvation.  Jesus incarnates the Name of God.  He is YHWH in the flesh.  ³Before Abraham was, I AM,² Jesus said.  To reject this Jesus is to reject the I AM of the burning bush, of Sinai and the Red Sea, the Lord of Israel, the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  There is no other Name, no other Lord who saves you.

To have a Lord is to have a redeemer.  Jesus is your Adonai, your Redeemer.  You didn¹t make Him Lord.  He became your Lord by dying and rising for you, and by baptizing you into His death and resurrection.  He will come to raise the dead.  And then you will confess what you now confess by faith:  Adonai Y¹shua Hamashiach.  Lord Jesus Christ.

Advent Reflections, Week Three, Friday

1 Samuel 1:24-28 ~ 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-8 ~ Luke 1:46-56

“His mercy is from age to age on those who fear him.” Luke 1:50

For four days this week we were encouraged to get past “fear,” the kind that paralyses. For the next two days we hear of a life-giving fear. It’s not a fear causing us to hide in terror because of God’s power. Rather, it’s a fear creating in us a desire to draw ever- closer to God. It is a reverential awe that makes us spellbound by God and causes us to be amazed by God’s word. Such “fear of the Lord” enables us to see God as God is, to break open our lives – even in our imperfection – before God so that God can pour his mercy into us. Such fear, we will read tomorrow, draws us into friendship with God, motivates us to remember the God’s deeds “to their last detail, leads us to recount them to others.

Lead me, Awesome God, deeper into an empowering awe-fullness before you.

Advent Reflections: Week Three, Thursday

Thursday, December 21, 2000

Song of Solomon 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a ~ Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21 ~ Luke 1:39-45

“The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a might savior. … He will joyfully sing because of you, as one sings at festivals.” Zephaniah 3:17

I am always amazed, when working with adolescents, how many of them have self-esteem problems. They don’t see their own goodness, their gifts and talents. They believe that they have to wear certain clothes or engage in certain behavior in order to have people like them because they can’t believe that others would like them just as they are. It’s even more amazing that such feelings are not restricted to adolescents but are part of adults’ lives as well. How many of us will have difficulty believing Zephaniah’s prophecy: God sings because of you? Here’s the truth: I give God cause to sing. God rejoices because of me. When beholding me, God’s response is to sing joyfully as at festival time. When you look in the mirror today, can you dare to hear – and believe – God’s song of joy?

Thank you, Lord God, for your song of joy.  May it sound in my heart forever.

Advent Reflections, Week Three, Wednesday

Wednesday, December 20, 2000

Isaiah 7:10-14 ~ Psalm 24:1-6 ~ Luke 1:26-38

“Mary said, ‘I am the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be done as you say.’” Luke 1:38

The word translated “maidservant” is used in masculine form of Jesus, with whom Mary becomes pregnant when she utters this fiat. St. Paul uses it often, referring to himself. A stronger translation, challenging me to shake off spiritual lethargy, is “slave.” Influenced by novels and television programs, I think of servants as those who agree to give a certain amount of time to a master for an agreed sum of money. Within the agreed time they are at the disposal of the master. Outside that time and in the servants’ quarters, they are free to do as they wish. That’s how I serve God, preserving a certain amount of freedom and self-determination. Mary – and Jesus and Paul – say: “I want you, God, to have all of me all of the time. I’ll be a slave. Then I will be free.”

Father, like Mary and Jesus and Paul, I want to say a complete “Yes” to you.

Advent Reflections, Week Three, Tuesday

So, we have come to a crossroads here... I was all ready to re-post Dad's reflection from the Feast of St. Lucy back in 2001 and well, it didn't match up.  A little nervous I checked the rest of the week and none of them matched up either.  My heart sank a little.  I must confess, as much as I have wanted to share all these reflections with you, I have also been deeply comforted by them as well.
That being said, I have decided to go ahead and re-post the rest of the reflections for this week and next even though they don't match up with the readings of the day.  I feel that irregardless of the particular readings (which ARE still important) that the reflections alone carry the Advent spirit.

Please keep that in mind when reading them and I hope that they inspire you daily, give you time to reflect as we wait for His Birth.

Tuesday, December 19, 2000

Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a ~ Psalm 71:3-6, 16-17 ~ Luke 1:5-25

“He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah … to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” Luke 1:17 [NAB, revised]

In the world of retailing, in order to give people savings, there is a constant effort to eliminate “the middle-man,” that person between the producer and the consumer who will make a profit for himself. God, on the other hand, is always looking for more “middle-men,” especially those like John the Baptist about whom the angel is speaking in today’s Gospel. It is awesome to think that God, who created all things without us, looks to us to play a part in bringing him to the world. The more that the witness of our life, our actions and our words makes the Lord present, the more others will be prepared to allow the Lord into their lives to bring his saving presence. And, the profit that will be ours knowing that someone has been fitted for the Lord! 

God, thank you for putting me in the middle of some many places where I can give witness to Jesus.

Advent Reflections: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Zechariah 2:14-17 or Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab 

Psalm 45:11-12, 14-17 ~ Luke 1:26-38 or Luke 1:39-47

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have salvation and power come, the reign of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.’” Revelation 12:10

On retreat in Mexico with some co-workers I made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe a few days before this feast day. Thousands of people were making their way – on foot and, as we drew closer, on their knees, to the shrine. As I prayed before the tilma, the cloak of Blessed Juan Diego on which the image of Mary was impressed, my thoughts turned to the missionaries who carried the cloak around the territory in the years after this miracle. They pointed to Mary, depicted in the image as a pregnant mother. But their message, like her eyes in the image, focussed on Jesus, the “hidden child,” Anointed One who is our salvation come into the world. And millions were converted. With our eyes focussed on Jesus we can make the same proclamation today.

Father, use me, as you did the miracle of Tepeyac, to proclaim the coming of salvation and power in Jesus.

Advent Reflections, Week Two, Saturday

Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11 ~ Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 ~ Matthew 17:10-13

“Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace.” Sirach 48:1

My reaction to fire is mixed. On cold December nights I really like the flame in my furnace. It lets me know that the house will be warm. I like the flame in my fireplace: it provides a special illumination in our family room. These flames make our life more comfortable. Fire can also make things quite uncomfortable. It can burn and destroy. It is used to refine out impurities in metals. It’s light can expose things that are hidden in the dark. Prophets like Elijah and John the Baptist – fire in God’s hands – illumine the way to God. But they also shine a light on aspects of my life I would prefer to keep hidden. They comfort me with the promises of God but also challenge me with God’s righteousness. No wonder my reaction to prophets is also mixed.

God, let the fire of your word, burn in my mind and heart.

Advent Reflections, Week two, Friday

"Jesus wants [the church] to be a hospital for sinners."
How easily I forget this too Dad!
Fr. Frank DeSiano recently flew to Boston to give a talk at the Memorial Lecture in honor of Dad hosted by Holy Family Parish in Concord, MA. The talk he gave was to say the least amazing!  He too encouraged us to see people through Christ's eyes -- with mercy and understanding.  He asked us if we should change the hymn, "All are welcome," to "Some are welcome?" I was really struck by this and gave me much to chew on. By example and by mercy hearts will be converted and lives will change -- people will walk in sinners and walk out saints (so to speak).

Friday, December 15, 2000

Isaiah 48:17-19 ~ Psalm 1:1-4, 6 ~ Matthew 11:16-19

“The Son of Man appeared eating and drinking, and they say, ‘This one is a glutton and drunkard, a lover of tax collectors and those outside the law.’” Matthew 11:15

The charge against Jesus is half-right. Jesus would readily accept the charge that he is a lover of sinners and, I think, would even delight in others noticing that he was. He shows a special affection for those who have wandered away. While I try to stay away from those whom I regard as sinners, it seems that Jesus goes out of his way to spend time with them. I want to make the church into a sanctuary for saints; Jesus wants it to be a hospital for sinners. I can easily speak about sinners with scorn; Jesus makes them “heroes” in his stories. Jesus does not condemn sinners but shows them a gift of mercy. I want others to earn my pardon; I find it difficult to adopt an attitude of forgiveness. 

Lord of mercy, I desire to learn how to become a lover of sinners.

Advent Reflections, Feast of the Immaculate Conception

This reflection sounds like something from a journal entry of one of our many great saints.   And no, I am not saying Dad is a saint but I do think that all holy men and women struggle.  All people have their moments where they think, "How can this be?"  Dad said he could hear God say in those tough moments, "All I need is your 'yes.'" 

Praying your Advent is filled with lots of yes' as we prepare the way for our Savior. 

Friday, December 8, 20000 ~ Immaculate Conception

Genesis 3:9-15, 20 ~ Psalm 98:1-4 ~ Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12 ~ Luke 1:26-38

“Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be since I do not know man?’” Luke 1:34

“How can this be…” How many times have I said that to God?  I have heard God’s promise never to abandon me.  But in the midst of my neglecting God by infrequent prayer or through sin – how can this be…?  I have been taught that God is my strength. But in the midst of painful illness or emotional anguish – how can this be? There are times when I sense God calling me to do something but I feel inadequate to the task: I don’t think I know enough or have enough experience or am holy enough. Or, I am just afraid. It’s easy to say, “How can this be …” Every time I raise the question, God’s answer is the same: “I’ll take care of everything. I’ll supply all you need. Trust me. All I need is your ‘yes.’”

God, for whom nothing is impossible, I give to you the “impossible” situations of my life.

Advent Reflections: Week Two, Wednesday

Dad says in this reflection, "God will not grow weary but will reach to pick us up again."  In every foil and fumble in my life God has been there in the midst of it carrying me through. Someone told me once to lay all your sorrows, all your joy, all your pain, etc. -- lay everything before the Lord.  For me, I have a tendency to feel like I am burdening the Lord, or He is kind of getting sick of me struggling with the same thing.  Or I think, this is such an impossible thing to put before Him in prayer that why even bother -- but I have to catch myself during those moments and recognize that they are lies straight from the pit of hell.  That instead of growing weary the Lord is actually DELIGHTING in us going to Him, relaying on Him, putting our own pride aside to let Him carry us.  

Wednesday, December13, 2000  

 Isaiah 40:25-31 ~ Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10 ~ Matthew 11:28-30

“The Lord is the eternal God, creator of heaven and earth. He does not faint nor grow weary.” Isaiah 40:28

A friend with whom I worked closely could see something was wrong. “You look tired,” she said. “That’s not it,” I replied. “I’ve been tired before – from long hours, from all the work. But with a little rest I’m ready to go again.” “Then, you must be tired of the work. You’re weary and you want to pack it in.” As soon as she said it I knew she was right. It took a long time to recover from the weariness. God never tires from loving us; God’s love is always full and fresh. And, even more wonderfully, God never grows weary of loving us. God never wants to pack it in. Even after God has repeatedly picked us up we may stumble many more times. God will not grow weary but will reach to pick us up again.

Eternal God, renew me in your endless strength.

Advent Reflections, Monday, Second Week of Advent

Okay, so yes, these were Monday's readings and yes it is Tuesday.  Man, I was on such a roll too. Will try to get back on putting them out everyday. 

Another thing besides this being Monday's readings there are some quirks about re-posting Dad's stuff from 2000. Today would have been the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and because of that the readings don't match up.  I am going to save it for next week and share it then. But, because of this there is are no reflections for today. Tomorrow I should be back on track! 

On a more reflective note, to answer Dad's question (one that I know he was asking himself as well when he wrote this) is yes, there are a few mountains, and feeling quite parched, yes the going is rough -- mostly because we are all missing Dad more than words could ever describe.  But the reverse would bring Dad back and well, that can't happen but there is  GREAT reverse going on or another word I would use is redemption! I have mentioned this before but everyday I believe God is redeeming Dad's death for HIS GLORY alone.  And well, that is probably one of the greatest reverses ever! 

Monday, December 11, 2000

Isaiah 35:1-10 ~ Psalm 85:9-14 ~ Luke 5:17-26

 “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom.” Isaiah 35:1

Advent is a time full of great promises and great hope. When we consider the words of Isaiah today and from chapter 41 in a few days, we realize that these can be days of God’s mighty reverses. There will be streams in the desert and rivers on the steppe. Valleys will be filled in and mountains made low. Eyes and ears will be opened. The voiceless will sing out to God. The rough country will become a broad valley and the rugged land will be made into a plain. I hear God’s declaration in a personal way: “If I can do all these things, I can work in your life. Do you have mountains and valleys in your life? Are you parched and feeling lifeless? Is the going rough? What needs reversing in your life?”

Lord of all reversals, I give my desert and steppe, my mountains and valleys to you.

Advent Reflections, Week One Friday

The gift of ourselves is the greatest gift -- filling our boxes with generosity, kindness, and love this Advent is a wonderful gift to offer Jesus.  This notion was instilled for us kids at an early age with the tradition of making Advent boxes.  We would decorate old shoe boxes with Christmas wrap and cut a slit in the top.  Then we would cut out last years old Christmas cards and paste images on the box.  Then every time we did something "good" we would write it down and put it in our box. Then on Christmas the hope I believe my parents had is that would be filled to the brim with goodness as a special gift just for Jesus! I will admit some years were filled up more than others.  This memory alone is a gift and one I now pass along to my children

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26 ~ Psalm 147:1-6 ~ Matthew 9:35 ­10:1, 6-8

 “The gift you have received, give as a gift.” Matthew 10:8

Giving gifts and getting gifts is on everyone’s minds these days. My children have always had at least one “I-have-to-have-this-or-I-will-just-die” gift on any list. As we think of this year’s gifts, we can turn our attention to the gifts that the Lord has already given us. All are important but as we reflect on them some one or another of these gifts plays a greater part in each of our lives. For some it is the Bible. For others, the daily Eucharist. Or Mary. Or service to the poor. If that gift was not part of our spiritual life in the special way that it is, we can imagine being much less alive. The Lord has given it to you so that we can give others who may “just die” without the life it brings.

Thank you, Giver of all good gifts, for the abundance of your love that has given me life, especially for…

Advent Reflections, Week One, Thursday

"It is not enough to hear the truth; one must live the truth." Thank you Dad. It is as if we were having a conversation right now.  You sitting at the end of the table and me talking about some lofty idea and Dad grounding me (as always) with these words.  

Thursday, December 7, 2000 

Isaiah 26:1-6 ~ Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27 ~ Matthew 7:21, 24-27

“Anyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on rock."” Matthew 7:24

These words from the last section of the Sermon on the Mount are a fitting conclusion to all that Jesus preached. The Sermon on the Mount, found almost immediately after Jesus calls the first disciples, clearly explains what following Jesus will mean. Lest we think that discipleship will be easy or only a matter of mastering the right teaching, the Sermon on the Mount is a call to – sometimes very difficult – action. It’s not enough to hear the truth; one must live the truth. Jesus calls his followers to bring alive his words by their actions. Only in that way will they be able to sink their lives more firmly into Jesus who is the Word ever-active. We all know what the house looks like because we’ve heard the words. Now it’s time to build.

Word of God, foundation for life, guide all my actions today that I may build your kingdom.