Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Wednesday 1 December - Catching our Tears


Catching Our Tears

“You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows” Psalm 23:5

Readings - Isaiah 25:6-10, Psalm 23 and Matthew 15: 29-37

Reflection

God cares about us—our concerns are God’s concerns. Isaiah tells us that our cries will be wiped away. It reminds us of the reading from Revelation in Chapter 21 where a comforting word tells us that God will wipe away our tears from our eyes.

God promised through Isaiah a new earth, a new kingdom and comfort shown through the coming of Jesus. God promises in Revelation to wipe away the tears from every eye and bring in a new kingdom and a new earth at Jesus’ second coming.

Jesus’ first and second comings reveal the fullness of God and Gods kingdom in our lives and in the world. We touch the kingdom of God here and now – each time we acknowledge by word and action that God is the ruler in our lives. We touch the kingdom of God in this season of Advent as we reflect on the wonder of God’s plan. And we hold in our hearts the hope of touching the kingdom of God in its full reality at some point in our future.

Prayer
Comforting and strengthening God.
Grant me insight and faith to recognise the signs of your kingdom here on earth.
Help me to be a faithful member of your kingdom, serving you with heart and soul.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory
Forever and ever
Amen

Additional Prayer Ideas
We pray for all who face difficult challenges in life.
Transforming God help, comfort and lead us as we offer ourselves to you

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tuesday 30 November - Out of Dryness


Out of Dryness

"May Righteousness Flourish”

Readings - Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72 and Luke 10:21-24

Reflection
“A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” On the whole we do not expect growth from stumps—they are dry, barren and rootless. We dig them up and throw them away. But we have probably all seen a tree stump sprouting new life, new growth in defiance of the axe.

When we feel discouraged and empty, cut down and squashed may we remember that new shoots are always possible even from the most barren of situations. And for this growth roots are critical. Our roots are critical. This Advent let us care for our roots, feeding off the good soil of prayer and the written word as we wait to celebrate the arrival of the living word.

This living word arrived in the most ordinary of situations. Was he the only baby born in Bethlehem? Were the holy family the only family without room for the night? For all but his final three years, Jesus was content with an “ordinary” life.

Learning a skill, being a good family member, learning about his religious heritage—his roots. But it is impossible to believe that in this ordinariness Jesus did not find the presence of God. We too, can catch glimpses of God in the ordinariness of our own lives.

Prayer
Help me, Loving God, to stand bravely before this changing world and to see the shoots of life in everyday.
Help me to grow my roots deeply into your love.
In my despair may I find your hope.
In my darkness may I see your light.
In my loneliness may I know your presence.

The Lord’s Prayer.

In the name of Christ Amen

Additional Prayer Ideas
We pray for all who seek to find meaning in their lives.
We remember those whose family relationshipsare strained and un co-operative.

For pray for all who struggle with issues of self esteem.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Monday 29 November - Hands to Reach Out


Hands to Reach out

"Swords into Ploughshares” Isaiah 2:4

Readings - Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122 and Matthew 8:5-11

Reflection

In 1965 Pope Paul VI visited the United States of America for the first time and spoke at the United Nations. Making an impassioned appeal for peace he asked for an end to warfare. Before the gathered assembly and with the world listening he pleaded “let the weapons fall from our hands...you cannot love with weapons in you hands.”

Isaiah dreams of those who will “beat their swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks.” Rather than war they will be called to cultivate land to provide for others. What a challenge for us today. Rightly so, we are called to challenge injustice and liberate the oppressed- we are called to fulfil the request to ensure liberty for all.

How can we offer the hand of friendship when our hands and lives are full with all that can divide? We may not carry spears and swords but the hands that should reach out to heal all to often become fists of anger and resentment. The hands that could reach out in concern are full of the pressures of our lives—this Advent what can we lay down so that we may reach out.

Prayer
Redeeming God,
May I surrender myself to you this day.
As I offer my plans, my dreams and ambitions, my anxieties and my fears may I be fully open to the prompting of your Spirit.
Help me, O God, to embrace this Advent and to use it as a time to expand and transform my life.
Help me, O God, to look for ways of cultivating my relationship with you and with others. Give me opportunities to show your grace and your mercy.
In your name I pray.
Amen

Additional Prayer Ideas
We pray for all who are caught up in the
conflicts of this world. For those too scarred and scared to leave their homes. For those serving in armed forces and aid organisations. May they know Gods peace.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Sunday 28 December - Advent 1 - A Spiritual Advent


A Spiritual Advent

"To you O Lord, I lift up my Soul—Psalm 25:1"

Readings
- Jeremiah 33:12-16, Psalm 25 and Luke 21:25-28

Reflection

Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is considered to be the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). If Christmas Eve is a Sunday, it is counted as the fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas Eve proper beginning at sundown
Advent is also a spiritual journey that Christians take, through the truths of Scripture that point to the birth of Messiah, to a reaffirmation that he has come, is present in the world today and will come again in glory. It mirrors the journey of faith that Christians make after that moment of realisation and acceptance of who Jesus is, in that we take that first step of faith in commitment, continue hopefully to walk the road of faith and increasing understanding, and look forward to our destination, which is to be in his presence forever!

May you be more fully aware of God as you journey through Advent.

Prayer
Loving God. As I enter this Advent season,
open my eyes to see in new ways the delight and wonder of your love.
In the darkness help me to see the promise of light and peace.
In the cry of the hungry help me see the possibility of a world where all are fed.
In my own yearnings and weakness help me to see the hope of Christ.
And in the eager anticipation of the coming of Jesus, may
I embrace the dawn of a new heaven and a new earth. Amen

Additional Prayer Ideas
We pray for all in our churches-those we meet through our weekly activities.
May we may reveal the light of Christ to them this Advent.

Advent Preparation


We often miss the power of Advent because, for so often, we are consumed by the demands of December. For many these demands mean additional busyness, for some - family pressures, yet for others the lead up to, and the season of Christmas, bring a loneliness rarely acknowledged and recognised by the busy world around us. The busyness may lead us to be distracted from having an Advent season that truly prepares us for the celebration of Christmas, with all its meaning.

The reflections which will follow over the next 4 weeks offer daily thoughts, prayers and meditations for Advent. I hope you will find the resource simple and friendly, challenging yet encouraging.

There is no need to rush or to do anything. It encourages you to “be” - to be the person God cherishes—for you to be yourself.

Advent is almost countercultural—the secular world around us is focused on buying and selling, rushing and worrying. It is one of the most stressful times of the year—guilt abounds in relation to visits, gifts:- “did I give as good as I got?”. “Did I invite the right people or miss someone out?” “Do I send a card to them? They didn’t send me one last year!” So much guilt and fear as we celebrate the birth of one who came to take away our guilt and fear.

What better time than Advent for us to become more aware of Christ’s coming to us. May each day of this Advent draw us more fully towards God with a renewed appreciation of Jesus’ presence in our lives.