Archive for December 6th, 2008

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

-James 5v7-9 TNIV

As my wife, daughter, and I have been observing Advent, lighting the candle(s) have been a highlight for us. We plan to do it only on Sundays, the beginning of the week, but others choose differently (to each his own, right?). However, I’ve been finding that I have been anxious to light the next candle. But I have to wait. I can’t just jump ahead and light the next candle - it’s just not the proper way to do it! Otherwise, if I did so, I would have lit all of the candles already, and it wouldn’t even be Christmas yet.

I am anxious, but I have to wait patiently…and that’s the point, isn’t it?

Aren’t we waiting patiently for Christ to come again? We can’t just jump ahead in the story. We have to wait, and we have to wait patiently. We can’t make Christmas come any faster by lighting the candles, and we can’t make Christ come back any faster either. We must wait.

So, what can we do? Pray and pray patiently. Celebrate and celebrate patiently. Worship and worship patiently. Mourn and mourn patiently. Rejoice and rejoice patiently. Serve and serve patiently. Give and give patiently.

Wait and wait patiently.

v. 2.0 of Advent resources (#6 & 7)

As Amanda and I (and Giselle) have been observing Advent, I have been searching around for specific Advent resources. I’ve found a few that I really appreciate.

1. Christianity Today has created its own Advent calendar. Click the link at the bottom, and it takes you a prayer/verse for the day.
2. The Church of England made a video Advent calendar. It’s a good contemporary way of doing it that supports the idea of “waiting,” which we aren’t very good at anymore. Good for them though!
3. Everyday Liturgy is providing an Advent poem every day through the season. A very creative way of reflecting on the time.
4. Advent08 iPhone app. You need $.99 and an iPhone/iTouch, but, if you have that, I recommend it. I provides readings and prayers for each day.
5. You can always make your own Advent wreath. If I thought about it before, I would have done this. Do it yourself here.
6. I’m a little late on this one, but Advent Conspiracy is a wonderful way to observe Christmas differently by having a mindset of giving more and spending less. To a non-creative American like myself, the question is, “How can I spend less but give more?” Check it out.
7. Diana Butler Bass shares her Advent calendar with you, and her reflections for each door she opens each day.

I hope to add more later, but I think this could get you on the right track. If you are looking for something simple, always check out this site.

As I stated the other day, this could really happen, and Charlie posts about this on his blog.

I am all for peace and non-violence, but I’m not necessarily sure that such a thing could be achieved outside of the community of faith in Jesus the Christ. The world’s way to peace tends to be through violence. We see much of this in Jesus’ day with the Romans (I don’t mean to give you a history lesson but hold on). The Romans claimed to give the earth “peace;” as you may have heard of Pax Romana. The way Rome did it was through violence. Whenever anyone stood up to create a “disturbance,” Rome sent its legions to bring about “peace” by bringing them to “justice” by massacring the rebellious because, as one person put it, dead people are a lot quieter.

However, Jesus, the Prince of Peace, brings about peace through justice, but justice of turning the other cheek, loving your neighbor as much as you love yourself, and carrying a soldier’s belongings an additional mile.

I’m not really sure that I would trust America or any legislative body to enact peace and non-violence. I fear that it still may be peace through violence rather than peace through justice.

All I’m saying is, if a Department of Peace and Non-Violence is created, Christians should not put their hope in such a department but remain hopeful in Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we are back in the same place we were supporting certain politicians (e.g., Emperor Constantine among others), and it coming back to bite us. Please be cautious my Christian brothers and sisters.